


Raised By My Future

by Milksapphire



Category: Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Xena: Warrior Princess
Genre: Action/Adventure, Bad Decisions, Comedy, F/F, F/M, Gods, Magic, Meddling, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-20
Updated: 2018-12-24
Packaged: 2019-08-05 04:31:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 45,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16360847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Milksapphire/pseuds/Milksapphire
Summary: Ares has a burning desire to bring the warlord Xena back and make her his warrior queen, so he asks his sister for a favor to help him with his problem. His sister agrees to help him but the outcome isn't exactly what he hoped for.





	1. Chapter 1

**I don't normally write anything canon Xena because I prefer writing Alternate Universe stories but thought I should try something new for a change. I also don't write a lot of comedic stories either but here we are.**

**Thank you to my friend that helped me come up with this idea. You know who you are lol.**

Raised By My Future

Chapter 1

Xena knew this was a trap. This entire attack on Thessaly was a trap and she knew Ares was behind it all. He was always behind everything to do with violence and rage. He relished in the pain, agony, suffering, and most of all anger. Ares loved anger. It was like an aphrodisiac to him and Xena knew that he put on this big show just for her. He wanted her attention.

"Ares!" she yelled and unsheathed her sword. "I can smell you," she smirked.

The God of War appeared leaning on a tree with a big smirk on his face. "Xena, so glad you could make it. You're looking...well." his eyes scanned her body and didn't think she could look any more beautiful than before. She aged well, not like some of the other women in his life. Though, she was still young.

"Knock it off," she stepped closer to him, holding the sword in front of her with a frown on her lips. "Why are you attacking these people? They've done nothing to you."

He laughed loudly and reached out, touching her cheek softly. "I wanted to see you in action. It really gets my blood going, you know." He winked and she rolled her eyes.

She chuckled and pecked his chest with the edge of her blade. "Let me get this straight," she paused and stared into his dark eyes. "You started a meaningless war just so you could see me? Is that right?"

"It worked, didn't it?" he grinned mischievously and leaned down to kiss her lips.

Her eyes widened and she pushed him against the tree and held the sword against his neck. "You will never quit will you?"

He waft the sword away from his neck and grabbed her shoulder gruffly. "Never. You used to belong to me, Xena. We could rule the world together. We could rule Olympus!" he smiled and she stared into his wild eyes. "You give me a child and I give you the universe."

Xena scoffed and stepped away, sheathing her sword. She knew she couldn't really hurt Ares, but she wished she could. "I would never have a child with you, Ares. The thought of it makes me want to vomit."

He growled and grabbed her arm, pulling her close. "I need you, Xena. We are perfect together. We were before."

She lowered her eyes and felt his hand on the small of her back. "That was a long time ago, Ares. I will never go back to the way I was."

Gabrielle ran to the trees, breathing heavily. She saw Ares cuddling Xena and frowned heavily. Pulling out her Sais, she threw one directly at Ares and the God ducked. "Ares, of course. I should have known," she smirked.

Xena took a generous step backward from Ares and folded her arms. Gabrielle eyed her suspiciously, then Ares chuckled at the petite blonde. "You've got quite an arm now, Gabrielle. I am impressed."

"Call off your army, Ares. You have no business being in Thessaly," Gabrielle warned and he rolled his eyes.

Ares sighed heavily and smiled at Xena. "She really knows how to kill a party," he frowned then disappeared from the forest.

Gabrielle shook her head and sheathed her Sais in her boots. She looked over to Xena and saw that she was distant. Her eyes were filled with confusion, not anger. Normally Xena would be in an awful mood any time she saw Ares, but this time was different.

"Xena?" she grazed her fingers along the warrior's arm. "Are you alright? What did he say to you?"

Xena frowned and brushed by Gabrielle to oversee Ares' army, hoping that they would vacate the area. "Nothing that I haven't heard before."

She rubbed her chin and saw the army slowly retreating, which was odd. Ares had never been one to submit to anyone, especially a mortal, and even more so, to Gabrielle.

"Looks like the army is leaving," Gabrielle observed, standing beside Xena.

The warrior furrowed her eyebrows and nodded. "I know and that's what's strange." She walked out of the forest and watched the entire army retreating on foot and horseback. Meanwhile, the civilians were cheering, grateful that the army was vacating their villages and homes. Although, Ares' army had already destroyed so much in such a short time.

Later, Gabrielle rode on her horse, trotting beside Xena for a few miles in silence. She couldn't figure out what was bothering Xena for the life of her but she knew it had something to do with Ares. The God of War was a touchy subject for Xena and Gabrielle alike. He always had some way to anger Xena yet seduce her sometimes. There were times when Gabrielle thought that Ares would turn and help Xena, but he was never someone to keep promises.

"You've barely said a word since we left Thessaly. Is there something on your mind?" the bard asked.

Xena sighed heavily. "Ares always finds a way to get to me. He will stop at nothing to get my attention."

Gabrielle nodded. Now the truth comes out, she thought. "You're letting him to get to you, Xena. He has no power over you now, although sometimes I think you get some kind of enjoyment out of his antics," she chuckled under her breath.

Xena widened her eyes and halted Argo, glaring at her friend. "What makes you say that?"

"Well, it's just that you had feelings for him before. It's hard to get rid of those feelings, Xena. Not even you can deny that." Gabrielle felt herself being interrogated by Xena's steely gaze and avoided eye contact with her. She felt that she hit a nerve, but it was easy to do that if Ares was involved.

"I don't have feelings for Ares anymore," Xena frowned and trotted ahead of Gabrielle.

* * *

Ares transported himself into his temple and let out a loud cry up at the ceiling. He turned and blasted one of the marble columns, breaking it into a million pieces. He growled and unsheathed his sword and began smashing several statues and busts of himself gifted by his followers.

A light appeared in his temple and he swiftly spun around and saw his younger sister, Hebe, lounging on his throne. He scoffed and lowered his blade. "What are you doing here?" he spat.

Hebe twirled a curly strand of her dark hair around her finger and smiled at her irate brother. "You have such a bad temper, Ares. You should control yourself."

"What do you know?" he frowned and sheathed his sword.

She shrugged her shoulders and hopped out of his throne and began circling around the war god. She traced her fingers along his broad chest and he rolled his eyes. "What is troubling you now, brother? Did Hercules upset you again? Must be mother and her antics again. Or perhaps it is Aphrodite and her meddling in your wars?" she pried.

He grabbed her hand and plucked it off his chest and spun the petite goddess around. He looked into her sweet innocent face and shook his head. "No, it's someone else."

"Let me guess!" Hebe grinned with glee and tapped her cheek. "If it's not Hercules, mother or Aphrodite, then it must be someone really important to make you so angry!" she sighed and then snapped her fingers. "I know, it's a woman you love, isn't it?"

Ares plopped down on his throne and swung one leg over the armrest leisurely. "You have been hanging around Aphrodite too much. What are you doing here anyway? I don't need you popping in and out of my temple."

His younger sister smiled and knelt down in front of his throne. She batted her long eyelashes up at her brother sweetly. "Ares, when you are upset, it upsets me. You know that. I love –"

"Don't..." he lifted his finger, "say that word."

Hebe pursed her lips and sighed heavily. "Wow, you're deeply in love with this woman, aren't you?" she shook her head in disappointment. "Who is it?" she asked with a smug smile.

Ares was not interested in spilling his guts to his sister, but he knew if he didn't tell her she would keep fussing for an eternity. "Xena," he mumbled.

Hebe jumped to her feet and her eyes grew in shock. "Ares!" she placed her hands on her narrow small hips and raised her eyebrows. "You are in love with a mortal?!" she let out a loud screeching laugh and Ares buried his face in his hand, trying to hide his embarrassment.

"Don't you have some chariots to prepare for mother?" he mocked.

She grinned and hopped onto her brother's lap. "Oh Ares, I am surprised to hear this. You must really care for her. She is an interesting woman, for sure! Most of the Olympians despise her, yet you have a soft spot for her."

"Hebe, get out," he growled and shoved her off of his lap and she rolled onto the floor.

She huffed and rose to her feet, folding her arms. "Ares! I want to help you. Maybe help her fall in love with you, how does that sound?"

Ares chuckled. "Xena does not do well with Olympians. I do not want her love to come from a spell!"

She sighed and sat down on an invisible chair for a few silent moments. She then had a brilliant idea. Squealing in delight she ran to her brother and grasped his hand. "Oh Ares, I have the most perfect idea. I'm sure you will love it!"

"I don't want your help!" he shoved her away.

"Oh please, brother! I don't have to put a spell on her to make her love you. What if I could do something else? I owe you a favor for saving me from mother's wrath last century. Ares...come on," she wriggled her eyebrows and he grunted.

"Well," he smiled and rubbed his beard. "There might be something you can do for me, but I don't want any strings attached!" he warned.

"Oh, of course not, no." she smiled, agreeing to anything he said.

He transported to the other side of the temple, desperate to get away from his little sister. She was so sweet, yet she hung around him all the time. He couldn't figure out why she was so loyal to him. He folded his arms and smiled, thinking of Xena. She was perfect, too perfect, and perhaps that was her flaw.

"Xena was prime in her younger days. Now she has succumb to the good-doer lifestyle with... _Gabrielle_ ," he said with distain. "If I could go back and recapture her in her youth then I could make her mine forever."

Hebe grinned and ran over to her brother. "So you want to make her younger, huh?" she asked with a sly grin. "I could do that for you, brother."

He eyed her suspiciously. "No strings, Hebe."

"Right, yes." She nodded and circled around him playfully. "Consider it done, but I must warn you to be careful what you wish for, dear brother." She winked then disappeared from his temple.

Ares frowned and felt his sister was up to something, although Hebe, being the goddess of youth, never really bothered any of the other Olympians or meddled in mortals' lives either. He only felt suspicious of her gleeful disposition.

Aphrodite appeared in his hall of war and he rolled his eyes, running his hand across his face. "Ares!" she growled. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"Nothing that concerns you. Why don't you go back to...whatever it is that you do," he waved his hand dismissively.

She scoffed and crossed her arms. "If you wanted help to make Xena love you why didn't you call me?" she pouted, feeling a little bit insulted.

He sighed heavily and rose from his throne, marching to his sister. "Because you will just put her under a spell! I don't want Xena to be under a spell. I want her to love me naturally..."

"So you asked for Hebe's help?" she arched a brow and he laughed mockingly.

"You think you're  _so_  funny. Get out, Aphrodite. I have a lot of planning to do." His eyes lit up at the thought of seeing in her old ways again. He longed to see that fire in her again, that fire that she got rid of long ago. But not anymore.

She rolled her eyes. "You're going to regret this, bro." she was gone in a flash and he groaned lowly. Finally, she was gone, he thought.

* * *

Gabrielle was flapping her arms up and down, playing a game of charades with Xena. As she began her fourth charade she realized that Xena was really bad at this. Very bad, actually.

Xena's face contorted and her eyes widened. "A...bird?" she guessed.

Gabrielle half smiled and her arms dropped to her sides. "Oh right, Xena. Like I would be acting out a bird." She rolled her eyes.

"You aren't very good at this, you know," the warrior said.

The bard gasped and placed her hands on her hips. "ME?  _I'm_  not good at this? You've got to be kidding!" she scoffed and Xena half smiled, knowing that'd set the blonde off. "By the way, I was  _not_  a bird. I was Hermes."

" _Hermes_? You acted out Hermes?" Xena raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I was running out of ideas!" Gabrielle huffed and sat beside Xena by their small campfire. She began poking the fire with a long stick and playfully hit her knee against Xena's. "Are you alright? You're being really quiet."

Xena shrugged a shoulder and felt the bard's eyes focused on her from her peripheral vision. "It's Ares," she finally said.

The bard knew that was bothering Xena for some time now and was glad she admitted it. "You're letting him get to you again."

"Gabrielle. It's not that easy to let someone like that go," she said and sighed heavily. "He keeps asking me to be his stupid warrior queen and give him a child."

Gabrielle's eyes widened. "You said no, right?"

"Of course I said no!" the warrior spat, almost insulted that Gabrielle would even think that.

"Just making sure you weren't losing yourself," the bard smirked and Xena playfully nudged her arm. "I can't imagine you giving Ares a child."

Xena cringed, "Gabrielle. Don't go there. Just don't." she put up her hand and then lay down on the bed roll and sighed heavily, trying to focus on tomorrow. Tomorrow was a new day.

Gabrielle smiled and lay down beside Xena, staring at her backside. "Goodnight, Xena."

"Night, Gabrielle," she answered softly.

The youthful goddess, Hebe, appeared in front of the sleeping warrior and her bard. She smiled and knelt down beside Xena. Her face serene and unaware of what was to come.

"A deal is a deal," she whispered. She reached out and touched Xena's forehead and the warrior furrowed her eyebrows, stirring in her sleep. "Your youth will be restored by morning, sweet warrior princess," she giggled and then disappeared from the area.

* * *

She popped into Ares' hall of war as he sat at his desk, moving out chess pieces shaped in the men of Sparta and Athens. He flicked his finger and moved one of the Spartan soldiers, kicking the Athenian off the board. He grinned and groaned with delight seeing the Athenian killed from his playful game of chess.

"Playing a game with Athena again?" she spoke from behind him.

He waved his hand. "Not now, Hebe. Athena is about to make her move."

Though, Athena not present, she too was playing the game from her abode in Olympus. He watched the board carefully and clung to the table, leaning in close waiting for his sister's move. Slowly, an Athenian soldier moved a couple of steps forward, knocking out two of his men.

He slammed his fist on the table. "Damnit," he cursed beneath his breath.

Hebe sighed. "Ares..." her voice sweet and soft. He didn't bother to look at her and moved a chess piece across the board and bit his bottom lip as his soldier knocked out the 'queen' piece on the board.

He rose from his chair and threw his hands in the air. "Yes!" he yelled. "Victory is mine! Take that Athena!" he yelled and the chess board was flung across the room, not by him, but his sister in Olympus. He chuckled. "She was always a sore loser," he sighed, "Athens loses again. Wonder how her army is fairing now?" he scoffed.

"Ares!" her voice raised and he rolled his eyes.

"What do you want? You're spoiling my moment."

She smiled sweetly and bat her eyelashes. "I've completed the spell. Xena will be youthful again by morning."

He clapped his hands together and a devious grin appeared on his face. "A youthful Xena. A Xena filled with that fire that has been missing. That fire I long..." he clenched his fist and realized his sister still present and shot her a glare. "Do you mind?" he hissed.

"Do I get a thank you?" she folded her arms.

"Yeah, yeah. Thanks," he mumbled. "Now leave me to bask in the glory," he grinned and she sighed then left the hall of war. "You will be mine again, Xena."

* * *

The sun rose and Gabrielle groaned, slowly waking up. She expected Xena to wake her up like she normally did since she was up at the crack of dawn. But not today apparently. Xena had been merciful. She rose from the bed roll, stretching her arms over her head and yawned.

She looked over and saw Xena was still asleep, wrapped in a blanket. Raising an eyebrow she nudged her arm. "Xena," she said but the warrior only stirred and then rolled over onto her stomach. "Is she serious?" she muttered.

Gabrielle stood and began rolling up the mat. "It's not like you to sleep in, Xena. I know that Ares really riled you up but that's no excuse to sleep in. Come on." She grinned and saw Xena did not awake. Tossing the bed roll aside she frowned.

"This isn't funny anymore, Xena. Come on, wake up!" she knelt down and nudged her again and heard a soft moan and the warrior pulled the blanket over her head. "Xena? What's the matter with you?!"

Xena groaned and then rose from the bed roll giving Gabrielle a horrible glare. "Why are you interrupting my sleep?" she growled.

The bard's eyes widened and her jaw dropped as she lay eyes upon the warrior, except it wasn't Xena, at least, not the Xena she knew. The once tall and fierce woman that Gabrielle knew was gone. Her eyes roamed and saw the leather bodice that Xena wore had become loose and ill fitting her exceptionally smaller frame.

Xena was not a woman anymore. She was a teenager.

"You..." Gabrielle began and the young Xena kept glaring at her. "You...by the gods," she stood and placed her hand over her mouth. "What's happened to you?!"

Xena grumbled and the leather strap fell off her shoulder. She looked down and saw she was wearing a short leather outfit, though it didn't fit anywhere. "What is this?" she muttered and flung the blanket off and her eyes widened at the boots she wore that didn't fit either. She suddenly felt so exposed and wrapped her lanky arms around her body.

"Why am I wearing this?" she asked and Gabrielle stood in shock. Her eyes lifted to the blonde and frowned. "Who are you?"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Gabrielle kept gawking at the teenager before her. This was no ordinary teenager. This was Xena and to make matters worse, the lithe teen didn't remember who Gabrielle was. She was too shocked to react to what Xena had said and couldn't take her eyes off of her. She had wondered what Xena was like as a teenager and child, but this was wrong. This was all wrong. Someone was planning something evil, she could feel it.

Xena cocked her eyebrow and groaned. "Hello!" she knocked on Gabrielle's forehead. "I'm talking to you!"

Gabrielle shook her head and leaned backward on her heels. Bossy little thing, she thought. "You...don't know who I am?" her voice soft, almost hurt hearing those words from her beloved friend and companion of several years.

The teenager folded her arms and leaned in, giving a good look at the short haired blonde, eyeing her from head to toe. She wagged her head. "Am I  _supposed_  to know you?" she asked suspiciously.

The blonde grinned and placed a hand over her chest. "I am your friend." She saw that Xena had a blank face and realized that she truly didn't know her. "You really don't know who I am," she sighed. She thought she could maybe tell Xena a little about... _herself_...so she could remember who she was. That sounded really odd.

Xena kept fidgeting with the leather straps that continually fell off her shoulders. Gabrielle pat her knee and Xena spun her head around. "A few months ago we went to India. Do you remember that?"

The teen contorted her face in confusion. "India? I've never even left my village before!"

The bard groaned and slapped her forehead. She decided to take another approach. "Solan. Do you remember him? Your son?"

Xena gasped. " _Son_?!" she spat. "I never had a baby!" she rose from the ground and the leather outfit she wore hung on her. She flayed her thin arms in frustration. "Listen, you are crazy. I don't know who you are and you are telling me I have a son!" she slipped out of the armor and looked down at the ill fitting slip she wore.

Gabrielle's eyes widened when she saw Xena wearing her slip. She picked up her armor and shoved it in her chest. "Put this back on!"

"No!" Xena began walking off and tripped in the large boots and nearly fell into the grass. Gabrielle rolled her eyes and quickly packed up everything and placed it on Argo's saddle.

"Xena!" she hissed and pulled Argo and the horse began backing away. "Come on, Argo. Don't do this to me!" she whined then turned and saw Xena continuing to walk off by herself. "Xena!" she growled. "Argo!" she pulled her reins and finally got the stubborn animal to follow her.

She finally caught up to the sassy teenager. She would have never guessed that Xena was such a sassy little teenager but now she really missed the older Xena right about now. She breathed heavily and watched her friend walking down the dirt road in her undergarments.

"Hey!" she called out and Xena ignored her. "Would you stop for just one second!"

Xena rolled her eyes and turned around, folding her arms. "What is it  _now_?"

"Just where do you think you're going?"

"To my home where I belong and so I can get away from you," Xena spun around and kept walking.

Gabrielle grunted. "We aren't in Amphipolis!" she blurted out and saw the teen stop in her tracks. I have you now, she thought.

"How do you know where I'm from?" Xena turned eyeing the bard suspiciously.

"Because I'm your friend." She pulled Argo along with her and smiled at Xena. She thought the warrior princess would be shorter at this age, but no. She still towered over her. "I know a lot of things about you, Xena. We've spent years traveling together. We've been to the land of Chin, Siberia, India. So many places."

Xena's stance softened. "I still don't know who you are," she said a little bit disappointed. "If we're not in Amphipolis then  _where_  are we?"

Wow, she really doesn't know anything about herself, the bard sighed. "We're in Thessaly." She saw the realization on Xena's face and maybe even some fear to go along with it. Certainly not very becoming of the warrior princess.

"That's far from Amphipolis," Xena sighed heavily. "If you say you know me...then what are my brothers' names?"

"Toris and Lyceus," Gabrielle answered with a smile and Xena's jaw dropped.

"What about my mother?"

"Cyrene," she answered again. "We could go on all day with questions Xena, but I know more about you than... _you_  do." She quirked her mouth and arched an eyebrow. Once again, reminded that this situation was so weird. "Listen you can't walk around like that. We need to get you some more suitable clothes." There was no way Xena could wear her leathers, especially since they didn't fit her.

She placed a hand on the lithe warrior's shoulder and walked together. "We have to figure out what happened to you." She frowned.

"What do you mean? I'm fine!"

"Xena. You aren't really a teenager." She said and Xena shot her a confused look. "I mean...you are  _now_ , but you weren't yesterday. We were fighting against Ares' army and then you woke up...like  _this_."

"Ares? The God of War?" Xena asked and the bard nodded. "You actually  _saw_  him?"

Gabrielle felt her heart beat quicken at the mention of Ares. She really didn't like him very much especially since he kept stalking Xena for the last few months incessantly. "Yes, but anyway, let's get you some clothes first while I think about what could have happened to you."

* * *

While Xena was trying on her third outfit in a row Gabrielle sat at a table trying to come up with a reasonable explanation for all of this. She tapped her fingers on the tabletop and groaned, growing more frustrated by the minute and Xena trying on so many outfits was not helping.

"Aphrodite?" she whispered. "No, it's not her style." She sighed. "Hades?" she slammed her fist on the table. "Hades. What am I thinking?!" she then banged her forehead on the table.

"What do you think, Gabrielle?" Xena stepped out and the bard spun around slowly.

Her eyes grew at the sight of Xena wearing a super revealing dress. She rose to her feet and Xena grinned, placing a hand on her hip, or lack thereof. "No way in Tartarus I am letting you walk around in  _that_!" she already saw eyes of men lingering towards Xena and she snarled at them.

 _Gods, Xena would kill me if I let her walk around in that_. Once again, sounded so weird. "Go find something else, preferably anything that covers...everything..." she eyed her breasts pressed against the tight bodice. She slapped her forehead and felt a headache coming on.

After several attempts Gabrielle finally convinced Xena to wear long pants, new boots and a loose blouse. They walked together down the road, out of sight and the village areas. They were heading towards Corinth and they were already way behind schedule.

Xena rolled up the long sleeves on the flouncy blouse and frowned. "I don't see why we have to go to Corinth. Can't we just go to Amphipolis first?" she asked.

" _No_ , Xena, we aren't going to Amphipolis...for the  _last_  time..." she muttered.

"Why not?"

Gabrielle bit her tongue and clenched her jaw. Xena's assertiveness was beginning to get on her nerves. Xena had always been very assertive but this teenage Xena was so much different. She had no real life experience and she probably didn't even know how to hold a sword and if she did...Gabrielle wasn't trusting her at all with it.

"Because we have to go to Corinth. We're meeting some friends there." She answered.

Xena arched an eyebrow and saw a round weapon hanging on Gabrielle's belt. Grinning deviously she snatched it off the belt loop and the bard spun around.

"Xena! Give that back!" she hissed and Xena tossed the chakram from one hand to the other with ease. Gabrielle kept trying to reach for it to grab it. She sure wasn't going to allow Xena to use the chakram. "Xena! That is not a toy!"

"What is this?" the dark haired teenage eyed it, examining the fine craftsmanship of the weapon.

Gabrielle groaned. "It's called a chakram. Can you  _please_  give it back?"

"How does it work?" Xena asked.

"Never mind about that, just –"

Xena tossed the chakram in the air and it hit against a tree then ricocheted to another tree and Gabrielle ducked to the ground, covering her head as it flew over her head. Xena's eyes darted all around and she circled herself, following the chakram's path.

She jumped into the air and caught the chakram as it flew in her direction. She grinned and her eyes widened wildly. "I like this thing."

The bard breathed heavily and stood up slowly. " _Don't_...do that again." She ran her fingers through her hair and snatched the chakram from her friend's hand.

Xena narrowed her eyes. "What's your problem? If I'm your  _friend_ ," she mocked, "then why are you so irritated with me?" she crossed her arms.

Gabrielle sighed heavily and clipped the chakram back on her belt. She grabbed Xena's arm and pulled her along as they walked together. "I don't mean to be. I just...want to know what happened to you. This is not the Xena I know and I'm having a hard time processing it. I've always wanted to know what you were like when you were younger but now..."

Xena leaned in closer to the blonde. "But  _now_?"

"Now I think I regret ever wishing to see that," she teased and the teen pursed her lips.

"You think I'm annoying, don't you?"

Gabrielle shook her head. "I didn't say that  _exactly_."

"But you are thinking it," Xena nudged her shoulder and the bard smirked.

"Okay. Maybe a little bit."

Xena smiled and walked ahead backwards with her hands behind her back. "Alright, Gabrielle. Tell me everything. If what you say is true and that you do  _know_  me then tell me about my life."

The bard bit her bottom lip and saw the teenager eyeing her with a big curious grin. " _All_  of it?" she immediately felt like this was a bad idea. This whole situation was a bad idea. She almost didn't want to tell Xena about her warlord days, but this might be her chance to know Xena for who she really was before she encircled herself in the path of darkness many years ago.

"Yeah, I want to know everything." Xena said and saw the blonde's eyes linger. "What's the matter? Am I a crazy person or something?"

Not exactly. "No, it's just..." Gabrielle lifted her eyes and saw the curiosity in Xena's blue eyes. "Where do I even start..." she rubbed her chin.

Ares appeared in the forest and saw Gabrielle walking with Xena. He frowned and walked behind them, completely concealed from their eyes. He walked in front of the two and his eyes widened when he saw Xena. This was not the woman he expected to see. In fact, this was not a woman at all. This was a child!

He growled and listened to Xena talk with Gabrielle in her most innocent voice, far different from her strong voice that rung through his ears for years. He wanted Hebe to make Xena youthful again. He wanted the evil Xena –the warlord Xena, but instead he got a child, a teenager. A clueless, annoying, sassy teenager!

He roared to the skies and disappeared from sight. Gabrielle frowned and stopped, turning around she felt something rustling in the bushes behind them. Xena placed a hand on her shoulder and she spun around.

"Something wrong?" she asked, batting her long dark eyelashes.

The blonde half smiled and wagged her head. "No I thought I heard something. Anyway, where was I..." she pondered.

"The warlord, Cortese." Xena said and hooked her arm with the bard as they continued walking together.

"Oh yes..."

* * *

Ares appeared back into his temple and screamed aloud, "Hebe!" he spun around and knocked over a large statue inside his own temple. "Hebe! Show yourself!"

The small goddess appeared in the hall and saw her brother having another tantrum of his. Nothing unusual about that. "You called, brother?"

He marched over to her and grabbed her by her dress and she gasped, gawking into his fiery dark eyes. "What have you done to Xena?!" he hissed.

"You told me to make her youthful and that's what I did, Ares!" she griped and shoved him in the chest.

"No!" he wagged his finger. "No! You turned her into a child! What am I supposed to do with a teenager, huh?"

Hebe shrugged her shoulder. "I may have miscalculated the exact time..." she sighed and folded her arms.

"You  _may_  have  _miscalculated_..." he chuckled and punched a wall. "You change her back, Hebe! Change her back now!"

The goddess shook her head. "No can do, brother. You asked for my help and I did my part."

"No, you didn't! You turned her into a teenager! I asked for warlord Xena, Destroyer of Nations and you gave me..." his nose crinkled in disgust, "a scrawny little girl." He shivered.

Hebe rolled her eyes. "I can't reverse the spell, Ares. A deal is a deal."

He began pacing around panicking. He didn't want Xena to stay this way. If he couldn't have her when she was a warlord then he couldn't have her at all. He would rather pine over her as a goodie warrior she became than not at all. He wanted Xena but he could never get close to her now. She didn't even know he existed. She wasn't at an age where she lost herself in the darkness and path of destruction yet. She was innocent and Ares didn't want an innocent Xena.

"There must be another way to change her back," he said.

The sister quirked her mouth. "Well...there is another option..."

He paused and turned to her. "Which is...?"

She grinned. "I need the Kronos Stone. When you play with time things can get a little...hairy," she chuckled. She saw the malice in her brother's eyes and knew he was not amused. "Listen, brother, get me the stone and I'll change your precious mortal back to normal."

He laughed maniacally. "Hebe...my dear sister...how am I supposed to find the stone?!" he growled and marched over to her, towering over the little goddess. "My idiot brother, Hercules, broke the Kronos Stone! It's shattered all over Greece!"

"Well, looks like you're going to have to find the pieces, brother or Xena is going to stay this way forever." She grinned then disappeared from the hall of war.

"HEBE!" he roared and he heard a soft giggle echoing through his temple. He slammed his fist on a table and broke it in half.

* * *

Xena sat beside Gabrielle around their small campfire, contemplating all the things that supposedly happened in her life. It certainly sounded like some myth that parents tell their children. It didn't sound real but at the same time, there was so much detail when Gabrielle relayed it to her that it had to be real.

"So...Lyceus is dead in this... _time_?" her eyes saddened and Gabrielle nodded silently. "And Toris? He's alive?

"Yes he is," the bard said as she poked the fire with a long stick.

Xena's eyes darkened and she clamped her hands together. "Cortese. Is he dead?" she turned to the blonde and Gabrielle arched an eyebrow, seeing a dark look in her friend's blue steely eyes.

"I...I'm not sure." She saw that Xena's darkness had been buried beneath her for a long time and it only took the death of her brother to bring it forward. Looks like this Xena was the still the same person that she was told about. Maybe this was not a good idea to tell Xena about her past...or future. None of this made any sense.

"Xena, I should let you know that we're going to see the Amazons in Corinth."

Xena's eyes softened and she eyed her curiously. "Amazons? They exist?"

Of course they do, Gabrielle thought, and you killed a lot of them. "Yeah," she nodded. "And...when they see you..." her eyes roamed Xena's thin frame and shook her head. "Just let me do the talking."

"Gabrielle..." the teen began in a soft voice and their eyes met. "What happened after my brother died?"

The bard sighed and focused on the fire. She had heard Xena tell her life story many times before and it was not easy to hear since she came to Xena long after she left her dark past behind. But now that she had to tell it to someone and that someone being Xena herself, it didn't make it any easier.

"You...left Amphipolis and never came back. You gathered an army and killed everyone in your path." She said lowly and was afraid to look at Xena's face.

Xena's eyes grew and her lips parted. She folded her hands in her lap and gaped at the fire. "I did that? I killed people?"

"Yes. You did." The bard exhaled heavily, feeling the weight of Xena's past heavy on her shoulders.

"Then why are you friends with me?" Xena turned and Gabrielle smiled faintly. "After what I did...how could you be friends with someone like that?"

The blonde's smile widened. A side that Xena she had never seen before came to light. Xena was horrified at what she had done...or what she will do. Whatever. She actually felt bad and at this age, she wasn't old enough to dive into that darkness yet.

She placed a hand on the teen's knee. "Because you changed. It took you a long time to change but you did."

Xena quirked her mouth and kept staring in the bard's green eyes. "I became a monster." She rose from the ground and paced around the fire. She folded her arms, shaking her head. "Lyceus would be ashamed of me." She muttered. "I wish I could go back in time and change everything that I did."

"I'd rather not play with time...it can be dangerous," Gabrielle smirked at pointed at the teen. "Exhibit A."

Xena scoffed then sat back down on the ground beside the bard. "So, tell me more about these Amazons."

Gabrielle smirked. "Well, we're really good friends with them. I'm also an Amazon Queen."

Xena gasped. " _You_?" she pointed her finger at the blonde's chest. "Get out of here." She grinned and waved her hand.

"Why is that so hard to believe? After everything I've told you, you doubt me now?!" Gabrielle shook her head.

"Well it's just...you're so..." Xena began and the bard cast a glare.

"What?"

"Short." Xena shrugged her shoulders.

Gabrielle gasped. "Have you ever thought that maybe you're just too tall?!" she spat.

Xena chuckled. "Hey don't turn this on me. It's not my fault that you're short." She teased.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Gabrielle and Xena stopped by a river in Corinth that was nearby the Amazon encampment. Normally, Gabrielle enjoyed spending time with Xena during their travels together, but this time was different. This trip to see her fellow Amazons was not like she hoped it would be a few days ago. A few days ago Xena was her normal self and that minor encounter with Ares in Thessaly was just a bump in the road.

During their journey to Corinth Xena constantly asked questions about her life and Gabrielle held back her answers, fearing that the dark part of her friend would surface. But how could it? Xena couldn't have been more than sixteen summers old and she was far too young to allow such darkness into her heart. She was pure and innocent at this age. Maybe a little too innocent. This young Xena didn't even know how to hold a sword, which the bard was sort of thankful for.

Xena persistently tried to pry answers out of Gabrielle but the more she tried the more silent the blonde became. She wanted to know more about her exiting life, though there were some missing pieces that didn't make any sense to her.

Gabrielle was packing up their belongings on Argo's saddle while Xena sat in the grass, picking at weeds mindlessly. She peered over at her teenage friend and frowned. She was so worried about keeping Xena's mind clear from her dark past that she completely forgot about Xena's feelings altogether. She never once thought that Xena might feel just as lost and confused as she did. She was stuck in this time period and had no idea how she got here and was misplaced. Her mind scattered and searching for answers that the bard refused to give out.

She skipped over parts of Xena's life that she thought should be locked away for another time. Not now. Speaking about Solan was out of the question and Borias too. She didn't even want to touch on the subject about Dahak and Hope. She couldn't do that to Xena and she damn sure didn't want to relive that awful time in her life ever again.

Gabrielle grabbed the animal skins off Argo's saddle and tossed them in front of Xena's boots. The teenager lifted her eyes, staring at her confusedly. "You should fill those up. We still have a day's ride ahead of us."

Xena slowly rose to her feet and snatched the animal skins. "Until we meet the Amazons?" she asked and the bard nodded. Slumping her shoulders, she turned and walked towards the river down the hill from where their camp was.

"Hey Xena," Gabrielle called out and the dark haired not-so-warrior turned around. "I will find a way to fix you, I promise."

Those steely blue eyes darkened and an imminent frown crossed her lips. "I doubt you can  _fix_  me after all the things I've done, Gabrielle." She turned on her heel and walked off, running down the hill to retrieve the water Gabrielle asked for.

* * *

Xena dropped to her knees and sunk one of the animal skins in the water. She stared at her reflection in the river and frowned. The more she asked questions about her life, the more angry she became with herself. Her life after she left Amphipolis sounded like a nightmare. Nothing went her way and everything was so depressing. Not to mention her little brother was dead because of her. From the way Gabrielle described Lyceus' death, it sounded as if Xena was not too much older than she was now when that happened.

She groaned and corked the animal skin and began filling up the next one. Muttering to herself she couldn't help but feel a tremendous amount of guilt weighing on her. It sounded like a lot of people hated her from what Gabrielle said. The only person that seemed to like her was Gabrielle and she still didn't understand why.

Ares appeared by a tree near the river and cocked his head, watching the young Xena. He heard her talking to herself quietly and his upper lip quivered. He could kill Hebe for what she did to Xena. He asked for one thing and not even his own flesh and blood could carry that out for him.

He saw Xena about to return to Gabrielle up the hill and decided to make himself known to her. Just as she turned around with the filled animal skins in her hand, he appeared. She gasped when she nearly bumped into him and he looked into those blue eyes of her. Those eyes so empty of fire and rage –the thing he missed most about the warrior. Even though she turned to do things for good, she still had that fire inside her. This little teenage version of Xena was lifeless, void of hatred and anger.

"Who are you?" she asked suspiciously and eyed the War God's leather vest and pants. She tried to side step him to get out of the way but he blocked her. Her frown deepened. "You're in my way."

He chuckled. "I was wrong. You do have that fire in you somewhere. Deep. Locked away." He stepped closer and saw her jaw tighten and heard her heart beat quicken as the space between them came to a near close.

"Do I know you?" she asked and he had an eerie grin plastered on his face. She looked over the hill and really need to get back to Gabrielle. They were supposed to leave soon to meet the Amazons. She didn't have time to deal with strangers.

"From another time," he said and she arched an eyebrow, almost eye level with him. He eyed her scrawny figure and couldn't help but be reminded of what a horrible sister he had. This was Xena yes, but she was a child –a little girl. She was of no use to him now. Or could she be?

He circled around her and saw her chest rising and falling heavily as he inched closer to her. He grazed his finger along her long dark locks and smiled. "I'm sure Gabrielle has told you many things about yourself."

Xena frowned sadly. She didn't want to think about all the horrible things she had done. She killed so many people. Hurt families and friends. "I was a monster." She mumbled.

"Monster. Leader. What's the difference?" he snickered and came round to face her once more. "You were a great warrior, Xena. I watched you for years. Even now, you are a great warrior even though...you left that dark path behind." He saw her eyes change to a dark shade of blue and her nostrils flare slightly. Yes, get angry, Xena, he thought.

"You know, I am here to help you. I want you to get back to your normal self just like your  _friend_ , Gabrielle." He said and she cocked her head to the side.

"You do? But I don't even know who you are." She folded her arms, still hanging onto the animal skins.

"Xena! Come on!" Gabrielle called from over the hill. The teenager gasped and Ares looked over his shoulder, concealed to the blonde's eyes.

"We will meet again, Xena," he winked and touched her shoulder.

At that moment Xena gasped, feeling the life almost sucked right out of her by his touch. The mysterious man had disappeared faster than he arrived. She dropped to her knees and held her head between her palms. Closing her eyes shut she saw images that one could only dream up in nightmares. Pain everywhere coursing through her entire body. Images of burning bodies. People screaming in agony. Children sobbing. Horses stampeding. The loud clang of swords clashing against one another. And worst of all –herself.

_"When I'm done here there will be a line of crucified bodies leading from Corinth to the Caspian Sea. And I will crucify them all. Crucify them..."_

_"Kill them all."_

_"Slit their throats!"_

_"I am the Destroyer of Nations. It has been foretold."_

_"After all the people we killed what's one more corpse?"_

_"She didn't fall. I pushed her. Yeah, see, I killed your little friend for sport."_

Gabrielle ran to Xena and grabbed her shoulder. "Xena?" she uttered her name barely above a whisper. Xena's hands were shaking and then soft sobs escaped her lips. Gabrielle's eyes widened. "Xena?!"

The teenager lifted her head, her eyes swollen with tears, her hands trembling and her cheeks flushed. She slowly turned her head towards the worried bard kneeling beside her. She saw a glimpse of her past life invade her memory. So much death, such anguish, suffering, but most of all; pain, a lot of pain.

"Xena, are you alright?" Gabrielle touched her arm and the young Xena flinched. "Hey...what's the matter?"

Xena shook her head and stood, grabbing her animal skins. She wiped her cheeks. "Nothing. We should be going, right?" she briskly walked up the hill towards Argo to strap these animal skins to the saddle.

Gabrielle stood slowly and folded her arms watching Xena leave her side. That wasn't nothing. Xena was disturbed by something or someone. She circled around herself and stared at the flowing river behind her. A presence was here. Someone was here, but who? I'll fix you Xena, don't worry, she told herself.

* * *

Hercules sat by the campfire with his best friend, Iolaus. He poked the rising fire and watched his friend attempting to catch fish for the last few hours by himself. Easily, he knew that he could catch a handful of fish in one clean sweep but he enjoyed seeing Iolaus fend for himself.

Iolaus smiled and brought back a small trout no larger than his hand. Hercules lifted his head and chuckled. "Hey don't make fun of my catch, Herc." He sat down and threw the pathetic fish on the plate. "I know you can do better but I enjoy fishing. There's something about sitting by the river waiting for a bite. It's relaxing."

The demigod nodded and picked up the puny fish. "I don't think this is going to hold us over until dinner, Iolaus."

The short stout blonde reclined in the grass. "Then why don't you work your magic? Since you're a better fisherman than I am. Obviously."

Hercules shook his head and grabbed his skinning knife. "The fish is fine, Iolaus. But I think next time I'll do the fishing from now on. Fair?" he waved the knife in his hand playfully. His friend rolled his eyes but didn't refuse the offer. He knew that Hercules was better at fishing, but he gathered that it was because he liked to show off sometimes.

"Bravo, boys. I'll make sure to line up a buffet of all the Olympians for your glorious catch of the day!" Ares snickered and crossed his large muscular arms. Iolaus immediately jumped to his feet and stood in a defensive stance.

Hercules sighed heavily and threw his knife on the ground then rose to his feet. Turning to his brother he smirked mockingly. "What do you want Ares?"

The god shrugged his shoulders. "Just wanted to talk."

"Yeah, right! Since when do gods just want to  _talk_?" Iolaus spat and came up beside his friend.

Ares let out a dramatic sigh and uncrossed his arms. "I am not here to rustle and tussle. As much as I want to wipe you off the face of this earth, I am here to ask for a...favor." He regret coming here just like he regret calling in a favor with his sister. Look how well that turned out.

Hercules laughed aloud and Iolaus soon joined him. The war god growled lowly and rubbed the back of his neck impatiently. "You? The god of war? Asking for a favor from  _me_? That's rich."

"I will knock you into the next oblivion," Ares hissed. "I need you to find the pieces of the Kronos Stone for me." He frowned at his half-brother.

Hercules frowned and saw that the war god was not joking. In fact, he was quite serious. This sounded more like a request instead of a favor. What is he up to, he wondered? "And why would I help you do that?"

Ares' body shook in frustration and then he calmed himself. All he wanted to do was turn Xena back to her normal self, but he wouldn't dare admit his mistake to his half-brother. This was an embarrassing enough day for him as it is.

"Listen! I just need you to do this for me! You got that?" he snarled and Hercules crookedly smiled, slightly amused at the god's not-so-subtle temper rising.

"Why would I help you? You're always trying to kill me or get some other god to kill me. Gods don't ask for favors, especially gods like you, Ares." Hercules placed his hands on his hips and saw the god's eyes darken, his fists ball up as his anger was seeping through his skin.

Iolaus grinned at the red-faced god of war. "Why do you need the Kronos Stone anyway, huh?" he teased.

Ares closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. Xena, he thought, Xena is the goal here, not me. He looked at his brother and his irritating blonde friend. What is with these people and their irritating blonde cohorts?

"I need it to undo something I've done. So if you would just  _get_   _it_  for me that would be great." Sarcasm dripping from his words.

"Oh, the god of war made a mistake!" Hercules chuckled. "What'd you do this time? I gotta hand it to you, Ares, you're man enough to admit when you've done wrong. Come on, what is it?"

"I can't tell you that."

Hercules sighed and leaned his elbow on his short blonde friend. "Then I'm afraid I can't help you. The Kronos Stone is a very dangerous weapon, you know. Why would I trust you with something like that? Planning to take over Olympus?"

Far from it, Ares thought. "As appealing as that sounds, no. I am not after Olympus. Maybe in the future," he nodded with a mischievous grin. No, Ares, focus, he told himself. "I need the stone. If you won't get it for me then tell me where the pieces are and I'll find it myself!"

Iolaus whistled lowly and looked up at his dear friend. "Wow, you must have really done something bad." He chuckled at the war god.

"You have one day, Hercules. One day!" Ares waved his hand dismissively and disappeared in an instance.

Hercules frowned and turned to his friend. "He really wants that stone."

"Are you going to help him find it?"

"Not until he tells me why he needs it." Hercules arched an eyebrow and thought his half-brother's behavior was suspicious and odd. He didn't expect Ares to call in a favor with him of all people. "So, how 'bout that fish?" he smiled and Iolaus bitterly grinned at that sarcastic comment.

* * *

Upon arriving to the Amazon camp in the outskirts of Corinth, Gabrielle eyed her sisters inside the encircled forest. She felt her stomach turn to knots. This was not going to be easy. Not at all. Turning to Xena she knew something was wrong with her. Something happened to her back by that river yesterday. She knew that Xena often kept things to herself and it seems that her younger self was no different. Bottling those feelings and emotions up was a one way ticket to a path that Gabrielle didn't want Xena to go down. Not after everything they'd been through.

"I want you to stay here," Gabrielle said and passed Argo over to Xena. "I'm going to talk to the Queen and explain everything." Xena gave a curt silent nod. Sighing heavily she placed a warm hand on her friend's shoulder. "If something is bothering you, you can tell me. Don't be afraid."

But that was just it. Xena was afraid and she did not feel that very often. The images she saw. The things she had done. It was all too much and those awful memories that weren't memories at all, but a glimpse of her past and...her future. A simple touch was all it took.

"I'll be back. Don't wander off anywhere!" the bard chastised and Xena turned her cheek, lowering her eyes.

Queen Ephiny of the Telaquire Amazons saw her friend and ally walking towards her. She smiled and left her fellow sister's side to greet the bard. "Gabrielle!" she shouted from afar then ran to her, encircling her arms around the petite blonde's body. "I am so glad you made it. I was beginning to worry about you."

Worry is an understatement, Gabrielle thought. "Well, I made it."

"Where is Xena?" Ephiny asked, searching for the warrior princess over Gabrielle's head.

The bard sighed and stepped to the side. She pointed to the trees afar, outside the encampment. "There she is."

The Amazon Queen laughed heartily and nudged Gabrielle's shoulder. "Come on, Gabrielle. Where is she? Seriously."

Gabrielle looked into her friend's eyes and her face void of emotion. Stone cold expression. Ephiny's smile faded and she whipped her head around to look at the supposed Xena standing with Argo, kicking dirt with her boot.

"But...I don't understand. What happened to her?" the Amazon cringed. "And where is her armor?"

The bard inhaled deeply. Here goes nothing, she thought. "The short answer is...I have no idea." She said and Ephiny shot her a confused look. "I know this is going to sound crazy but Xena and I were in Thessaly fighting Ares' army. A couple of days later she...she woke up like  _that_."

The curly haired Amazon Queen smirked, admiring the young Xena from afar. She was nothing like the Xena she came to know and love over the years. This Xena was far different and it was sort of a pleasure to see the warrior in her youth, void of sword and leather armor.

"She's kind of cute," Ephiny remarked. Gabrielle's mouth gaped at that comment. Turning to her bemused friend's face she quickly wiped that smile from her lips. "Have you found out anything as to why she turned into...a girl?"

Gabrielle slapped her forehead and wagged her head. "No! I've been trying to figure that out for days now! I don't have an explanation for any of this. And the worst part is, she didn't know who I was. She didn't know who she was either. She keeps asking me questions about herself and I don't want to continue answering them any longer."

"This is Olympian work, obviously. There is no other explanation for it."

"But what Olympian would do something like this?" Gabrielle asked.

The Amazon rubbed her chin and gawked at Xena, cocking her head to the side. "You said you were fighting Ares' army." She said and the bard nodded. "Have you ever thought that it could be Ares behind this?"

Gabrielle laughed. " _Ares_? He wouldn't turn Xena into a teenager, Ephiny. It wouldn't benefit him at all!"

Ephiny furrowed her eyebrows and turned to her blonde sister. "I wouldn't rule him out, Gabrielle. He's done some pretty heinous things over the years. You know how obsessed he is with Xena." She pat her shoulder then walked off.

Could Ephiny be right? Could Ares be behind this oddity all along? No, that didn't make much sense. Why would Ares, the God of War, turn Xena into a teenager? He only did things to Xena when he wanted something from her and recently, that  _something_  being a baby. This didn't scream Ares. There was something missing and Gabrielle had no idea what that missing piece of the puzzle was. She was going to find out though. She couldn't let Xena live like this and she wasn't sure if she could live with Xena like this either.

Her eyes lingered over at the teenage Xena whom was lost in her own thoughts. "What did you see back there, Xena?" she whispered.


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks for following along everyone! Let me know what you all think so far and enjoy this piece here :)**

Chapter 4

Ephiny was kind enough to allow Gabrielle and Xena to share one of the huts on the far side of the Amazon encampment. The Amazons had heard word about what happened to Xena and each time they caught a glimpse of her there were whispers everywhere. Xena chose to ignore them while Gabrielle grew slightly annoyed by her sisters' constant murmuring.

That evening, Xena sat by a fire outside of the hut playing those images she saw of herself over and over again in her head. Those images haunted her for almost two days now and she had yet to tell Gabrielle about them. She couldn't understand why she became the way she did and Gabrielle obviously left out a lot of information about her life on purpose. Now that she was able to see her true self, she realized why Gabrielle didn't tell her the truth about every single event in her life. She had seen enough of her own life to haunt her in her dreams for days, weeks, months and maybe even years.

How could someone live like this, she wondered? If she was able to change like Gabrielle said, how could she go on day by day, reliving those horrible memories. Xena may not be the age she was supposed to be, but she understood right from wrong and everything she had done was wrong. The more she relayed those images in her mind, the more angry she became. Angry at herself.

She thought she was alone until she saw the tall, handsome dark haired man appear next to her again. Xena frowned and focused on the roaring flames in front of her. "Have you come back to give me more nightmares?" she asked.

Ares chuckled. "You didn't like that huh? I thought it would be a good idea to show you who you really are, Xena."

She twiddled her thumbs in her lap and narrowed her eyes, staring at the fire as if she was trying to make the entire camp grounds burst into flames. "I don't want to be like that. That wasn't me."

"Oh, but it is, Xena. The fire, the rage, the  _anger_ ," he leaned closer to her, feeling her wrath sizzling inside her. "That's all you. You did all of that. Of course, you did have a little help along the way..." he hinted.

Turning her head slowly, she gaped into his mischievous dark eyes. "Help? From who?" she asked, now a tad bit curious.

He grinned deviously. "From me. We used to be such great friends, Xena. When I turn you back, you'll see. We can achieve great things together. You and I..." he touched her arm and she stood, backing away from him.

" _Who_  are you?!" she spat.

Gabrielle came to sit by the fire with Xena and frowned. "Who are you talking to?" she asked and Xena spun around, staring at the blonde bard with a bemused expression.

The teenager whipped her head back around and saw that the man was gone. She groaned and folded her arms. "To myself, apparently," she muttered.

"Listen, Xena, you've been acting strange since we left the river," that was an understatement. "If something is bothering you..."

Xena plopped back down on the ground and saw the Amazons walking by, gawking at her. She snarled at them and they turned their cheeks, minding their own business. "Why is everyone staring at me?!" she hissed.

The bard studied Xena's facial expressions and even though she was just a teenager, Gabrielle saw that look before. She didn't like when Xena made that face –the face of defiance, rage, wrath. Sure, she had known Xena as a warrior and she was used to killing people but she only did it to protect the innocent people. She saved people. But there were moments when Xena lost herself in her darkness and Gabrielle was beginning to see that again. She hoped she was wrong.

"Just...forget about them," she said calmly and Xena's nostrils flared as she continued glaring at the Amazons passing by. "Xena, what happened at the river?"

Suddenly, the young Xena calmed herself and softened her eyes and her frown faded. She didn't want to look into those emerald eyes that were fixated on her. "Nothing happened."

"Even as a teenager, you're still a bad liar," Gabrielle jested and Xena cast her a cold glare. "You were trembling. You were afraid."

Xena threw her hands in the air and rose from the ground. "You think you know me so well, don't you, Gabrielle? You say you're my friend and we've traveled together for years. You told me stories about myself. The good and the bad. But I don't know what you're talking about! They're just stories to me! You don't know me at all. Not this Xena. The Xena you know is not  _here_." She stormed off to the hut.

Gabrielle raised an eyebrow and turned to see Xena walking towards the hut by herself, pushing through a few Amazons out of her way.  _Something is definitely wrong with you, Xena. I see it in your eyes_. She looked up at the bright stars in the sky and knew this was going to be the longest night of her life. She really needed to fix Xena.

* * *

The following morning Xena sat on the bed inside the hut holding her leather armor in her lap. She lifted the armor up and stared at the gold chest plate. The visions that she saw of herself must have been so long ago. She was not wearing this armor but animal furs and a coined headpiece. Very tribal, she thought. This leather armor was different, maybe even a symbol for good, but how did she come by it? And why did Gabrielle leave out so much vital information about her life? Was it on purpose? It had to be, she knew it had to be.

The bard walked into the hut and Xena set the armor back in her lap, gaping at the bard. "Your trademark armor," she said with a faint smile.

Xena nodded and her eyes lowered. A frown appeared on her face and she ran her fingers along the gold breast plate in the shape of a heart. "How did I get this armor?" she asked.

Gabrielle shrugged her shoulder nonchalantly. "I don't know. When I first met you, you had that armor on. You said the breast plate had a special meaning to you."

"I don't suppose you know what that  _meaning_  is?" she pried.

"You know, Xena, you are very curious at this age. The Xena I know is very secretive and does not like to talk about her feelings." Gabrielle observed and saw the teen's eyes widen and a sad frown crossed her lips. "I'm trying to help you, Xena. I care about you and I'm always going to be there for you. I want you to know that." She smiled softly and grabbed her friend's hand, squeezing it firmly.

Xena felt the warmth of her supposed friend's hand and knew that she was being sincere. Even her brothers often said she kept her feelings locked away. She guessed that hadn't changed when she got older but she was able to suppress her memories, those awful memories for so long. At this age, she didn't understand how her older self was able to cope with all the awful things she did.

"Gabrielle..." she began, knowing that she might regret this question later. The bard stared at her anxiously. "What is the 'Destroyer of Nations'?"

The blonde's eyes widened and she stood upright, glaring at Xena. "Where did you hear that?"

Xena quirked her mouth and averted her eyes.

" _Where_?!" Gabrielle hissed. She gripped her friend's arms, shaking her lightly. "Xena, tell me where –" then suddenly she had a moment of realization. "Ares..." she bitterly said. Ephiny was right, Ares was somehow behind this.

" _Ares_? The God of War?" Xena asked and Gabrielle began pacing around the room. This was starting to make more sense now, but why him? Had she really seen the war god in the flesh?

Gabrielle ran out of the hut once she heard loud horns sounding from outside. Xena hopped off the bed, following her. "Gabrielle! Wait!" she called out.

Outside the hut, Xena skid to a stop and bumped into Gabrielle. Her eyes grew and her mouth parted when she saw a horde of Roman soldiers approaching the encampment. All of the Amazons were armed with various weapons –javelins, swords, bows, and crossbows. They were waiting for this. Was this why she and Gabrielle were supposed to come visit the Amazons? To fight against Romans?

"What...are  _they_  doing here?" Xena whispered and unconsciously placed her hand on the bard's shoulder.

Gabrielle unsheathed her Sais from the sides of her boots. "Caesar sent them," she answered. "Xena, go back in the hut and don't come out until I say so."

"But I want to help."

The bard sighed and turned to the tall lanky teenager. "I don't think that's a good idea, Xena. Just go back to the hut, okay? I don't want them to see you."

"Are they expecting  _me_  to be here?" Xena asked curiously.

"Of course they are. Just –" she groaned, "just go hide." That was something she'd never thought she would say to the warrior princess ever in her life.

Xena was inside the hut, peeking through a window, trying to remain out of sight from the Romans. She squinted her eyes and saw Ephiny, the Amazon Queen, speaking to one of the Romans. There, she saw the commander of the army, she saw who she guessed was Julius Caesar. Frowning at the sight of him, she knew she had met him before in another time. The words of Ares, now that she knew who he was now, spoke to her _. From another time_.

She saw Gabrielle in line with Ephiny, speaking with the Roman nobleman, Caesar. Xena's nose crinkled when she saw the smug smile on his face. He was so self-righteous and so arrogant. The way he sat on his horse, looking down on the Amazons as if they were common slaves. They weren't going to be treated like humans here.

The longer she stared at him, the more she began hearing his voice in her head. So many voices of people she didn't know or ever met before. A mind can be a powerful thing.  _My memory is my worst enemy_.

_"Greatness is about achieving what seems impossible to other men," Caesar said._

_"Why don't you and I work together?"_

_"What do you mean?"_

_"This life I'm living is beginning to bore me. I'd love to join forces with you."_

_"So, you want to help me conquer the world."_

_"Why not? We'd make an unstoppable team."_

_"Indeed. I bet you know a lot about conquest."_

_"Yes. I love it. pursuing the enemy, breaking down his defenses. Cutting off his only path to retreat. And then closing for the kill."_

Xena closed her eyes, panting heavily. She rubbed her forehead and shook her head, coming out of her trip down memory lane. Turning back to the Romans outside she saw Gabrielle having a one on one conversation with Julius Caesar. They did not appear to be attacking, but why? This man wanted more than to talk, Xena saw it in his eyes. He was out to conquer, that was his mission all along. But the Amazons? Why?

She was too far out of range to hear what they were talking about. But then she saw the Roman legion leaving the encampment and Gabrielle coming towards the hut again. She left the window and saw the bard enter the hut. She saw anger in her eyes, such malice.

"So, what did they say?" she asked innocently.

Gabrielle let out an exasperated sigh. "Caesar wants us to join forces with him to fight against the tribes that refuse to surrender."

Very interesting, Xena thought. "He's going to betray you." She blurted out. The blonde cocked her head, staring at the teen's assertive eyes. It's almost like she knew what was going to happen.

"What?"

"Caesar. He's going to betray you all, Gabrielle."

The bard crossed her arms, gawking at the teen with disbelief. "And how would you know that?"

"Because I just do." Xena smiled softly. "Don't do it, Gabrielle. He's going to kill all of you." She said and the bard sighed heavily. "See, I told you I could help."

Gabrielle chuckled and lightly punched Xena in her scrawny arm. For the first time in days, she was able to see some of her old friend shining through this teenager that she barely knew. But there was still something she needed to settle.

"Xena, tell me what happened at the river. Did Ares come to see you?"

The teenager wrapped her arms around herself and she nodded slowly.

" _Ares_." Gabrielle groaned, wagging her head. "Xena, don't listen to him. He's nothing but trouble. He's bad for you. He doesn't want to help you! I want to help you, not him."

"That's not what he told me."

 _Oh, really_? "What exactly did he tell you?"

* * *

Hercules and Iolaus walked through the forests in Delphi, making their way towards Athens. Hercules promised to visit a few of his mother's friends and help them with a house they were building. Iolaus also decided to tag along.

They walked together, carrying on a discussion about hunting and it was obvious Iolaus was trying to boast himself to make him sound like he was the better hunter, but that was not true. Hercules allowed his best friend to go on and on for a few hours, talking about different strategies to catch rabbits and boars.

Ares appeared against a tree in front of the two walking. He smiled and Hercules halted mid-step, glaring at his brother. "Boys," he snidely said and Hercules crossed his large arms.

"What do you want Ares? Oh wait, let me guess, the Kronos Stone, right?" the demigod smirked.

"So, you've decided to help me find the pieces?" Ares sauntered forward, coming closer and closer to his half brother.

Hercules snickered. "No." he continued walking and Iolaus brushed by the war god.

Ares groaned and transported himself ahead of the path and stopped in front of Hercules, barely a foot away. "Listen, brother. I need that stone and you shattered it. I need that stone!"

"You haven't told me why you needed it, Ares."

The war god rolled his eyes and folded his arms. "I need it for Xena," he finally admitted.

"Xena?" Iolaus interrupted and eyed his friend with suspicion. Now this was not sounding good at all. Ares made a mistake and that mistake involved Xena somehow. What did you do, Ares?

Hercules gaped at his brother. "What did you do to her this time?"

Ares mockingly laughed. "Ha..." he uncrossed his arms. "I need to change her back to normal. I know you are  _friends_  with her. So, will you help me find the stone or what?"

"Back to  _normal_?" Hercules pried.

"Long story short, she's a teenager. I need to change her back." Ares muttered.

Hercules laughed and his friend soon joined him. "Let me guess, this is your fault to begin with. One of your little schemes gone awry? Huh? Am I right or what?"

"Shut up. Get me the stone, Hercules." Ares threatened then disappeared.

"Wow. No wonder he didn't want to tell you," Iolaus nudged his friend's arm playfully. "So, are you going to find the pieces of the Kronos Stone?"

Hercules sighed heavily. "Something tells me that turning Xena into a teenager wasn't exactly Ares' plan. If I find the stone I'm afraid what he's going to do with it. But, I want to help Xena."

"We find the stone first and then go from there. Don't let Ares have it, Hercules. You know how he is."

"Oh, I know..."

* * *

Gabrielle and Xena traveled west of Corinth for the day to find one of Ares' temples. Gabrielle knew a way to get the god's attention and she wasn't going to allow him to corrupt Xena again. Not at this young innocent age. She wasn't going to let that happen again especially since she was present to witness the destruction he was already doing to her friend.

They walked inside the temple and Xena frowned, her eyes roaming around the dim candle lit temple. "What are we doing here?" she asked and wiped her finger on one of the statues. Dust everywhere. She cringed and wiped her fingers on her pants.

Gabrielle pushed one of Ares' statues on the ground and it cracked into three large pieces. Looking up at the open dome above she smiled at the bright sky. She wiped her hand across a table filled with gifts from his followers. Then she grabbed a candle a lit the curtains on fire.

"Ares!" she shouted and saw the clouds begin to darken in the sky. Her smile widening she went ahead and knocked over a bronze statue of the infamous war god. "I want to talk to you!"

She grabbed a platter and smashed it onto the ground. Xena gasped and covered her ears. Gabrielle continued smashing fine ceramic plates onto the stone floor. A clap of thunder roared in the skies above and the bard laughed under her breath.

Ares growled and appeared behind the irritating blonde. "You got my attention!" he snarled.

Gabrielle grinned smugly. "Good." She unsheathed her Sais and stabbed him in the chest. He winced and looked down at the weapon sticking out of his leather vest. "You change her back, Ares! You did this to her! Fix her now!" she yelled a mere few inches from his face.

He smirked and pulled the Sais out from his chest and threw it at the wall behind her. "What do you think I've been  _trying_  to do?" he cocked his head.

"You're filling her head with evil, darkness and destruction, Ares!" she shoved him backward. "I know you're behind this little plan. You change her back now or else –"

"Or else  _what_?" he snickered at the short blonde. "Can't kill me. Ya can't even hurt me. Bet you wish you could, huh?" he winked and then turned to the young Xena. "Told you that we'd meet again."

Xena folded her arms and averted her eyes from the god's harsh stare. She saw that Gabrielle really cared for her just like she said so many times. She refused to believe it at first but the way that Gabrielle acted when Ares showed up really proved to Xena that the young bard was definitely her friend. And Ares was not.

Gabrielle punched the war god's chest and he whipped his head around with a grimace on his face. "Ares! You and I both know that we don't want Xena to stay like this." She said and he lowered his eyes. "Unless...that was your plan all along...?"

He scoffed. "For your information, it was  _not_  my plan. My stupid sister messed everything up. I wanted to revive the old Xena and claim her as my warrior queen but that didn't work out, now did it?"

Xena's eyes widened when she heard that and Gabrielle furrowed her eyebrows, glaring up at the war god. The teenage Xena walked forward, her heart beat quickening with each step she took. "You  _wanted_  me to be that awful person I once was?" she asked in disbelief. He turned to her with a devious smile. "Why...why would you do that?"

"Yeah, Ares,  _why_?" Gabrielle said with a bit of mirth in her eyes. She folded her arms and he grunted lowly.

"Because you were mine!" he yelled and Xena jumped at his loud tone of voice. "You belonged to me, Xena. We could achieve great things like we did before. Conquer the Greece. The world. Olympus."

" _Olympus_?!" Xena spat.

He nodded. "Just another couple of years older and I would have had you in my grasp..." he touched her cheek and her breathing lagged, her face flushing and her stomach in knots. His fingers glided along her neck and Gabrielle rolled her eyes.

Xena frowned and swat his hand away. "No." she lifted her eyes, glaring at the dark pupils staring down at her.

Ares chuckled and backed away from the teenage warrior slowly. "I'll fix you, Xena. Once I have the Kronos Stone you will be restored." He grinned and disappeared.

Gabrielle gasped. "The Kronos Stone?" she muttered.

Xena cringed in disgust. "I think I need a bath." She said.

The bard spun around. "We can't let him get his hands on the Kronos Stone, Xena."

"What is that?"

"A dangerous weapon." Gabrielle tapped her chin. "A stone that once belonged to the Titan, Kronos. It has the ability to time travel to any era. If he gets his hands on that he could change you into your...old self," she said and realized that didn't make sense. "Well, you know what I mean."

Xena nodded. "So, how do we stop him?" she asked with a crooked smile.

Gabrielle smiled at her tall brunette friend. Looks like she hadn't lost of all her friend just yet. She was in there somewhere. "Hercules destroyed the stone years ago. We need to find him."

" _Hercules_?" Xena's eyes lit up. "You know him?"

The bard sighed. This explaining Xena's life over and over again in pieces was really starting to become taxing on her mind. "Yes...and he's our friend. We need to find him. Maybe he can help us." She walked out of the temple and Xena skipped after her.

Xena wrapped her arm around the short bard. "Wow. Caesar, God of War, Hercules. Who else do I know?" she beamed with a big eager smile.

Gabrielle groaned. "Let's get back to Ephiny." She shrugged Xena's arm off her shoulder and hastened her step.

"Come on, you're not going to tell me?" Xena scoffed. "Gabrielle?" she ran after her. "Hey! Wait!" she grabbed the bard's shoulder. "Do I know anyone else?"

"You know a lot of people."

"Tell me." Xena asked and the bard ignored her. "Please?" she begged. "Please?" she asked once more and Gabrielle narrowed her eyes, focusing on getting back to the Amazon encampment. "Please?"

"Are you going to keep doing this until I tell you?" Gabrielle halted in mid-step.

Xena stopped, nearly bumping into her petite friend. She bit her bottom lip. "Yes."

"You really want to know?" Gabrielle half smiled.

The teen nodded her head vigorously. "I wouldn't ask if I didn't want to know!" she hooked arms with her. "So go on. Tell me how popular I am."

"I don't know if you're ready for that..."

"I can take it!"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Hebe popped into the Halls of War, lounging on her brother's large throne. She smiled smugly at the sight of her brother swinging his sword mindlessly at what appeared to be nothing. She cleared her throat and Ares spun around. He glared intensely at his little sister and she twirled a strand of her hair round her finger.

"So, Ares," she began and he twirled his sword, making her very nervous. "Have you found the Kronos Stone yet?"

He chuckled and sauntered over to his sister and pointed the blade at her throat. "If I did...would I be here in my temple?" he whispered and she shrugged her shoulder then swatted the sword away from her throat.

Hopping off the throne she casually walked around the large statues, running her fingertips along the marble. "Well, I thought I should let you know that you have a time limit with these things, Ares." She grinned and his face paled. "Did I forget to mention that?" she let out a high pitched laugh.

"Hebe!" he growled and grabbed her arm and tossed her aside. "You didn't think to mention that the last time we had our little  _meeting_?!" he hissed and she frowned, fixing her dress and stood, brushing the dirt off herself.

"You don't have to be so rude, brother." She pouted and folded her small arms. "Bravo for setting your pride aside to talk to Hercules. I'm impressed with you! You must be so madly in love with this mortal woman." She grinned with satisfaction when she saw the fire inside her brother's dark pupils. "You have three days to get the Kronos Stone to turn your precious mortal back to normal. If you don't..." she hesitated and saw his fists clench, "then she will be the way she is forever."

His mouth parted at that news. He didn't want Xena to remain a teenager forever, if that's what his sister meant. Maybe Xena will age and then he could take her once again as his warrior queen, but the more he thought of that plan, the more angry he became. That was a stupid idea. It would take far too long for that to happen and of course then there was Gabrielle to think about. She was going to just leave Xena no matter what happened to her. Ares was convinced that the annoying blonde bard would stay with Xena even if she turned into a gorgon.

"You mean, she won't age?" he dared to ask.

Hebe nodded. "That's right, Ares. She will be trapped in that scrawny little body of hers and never reach womanhood. What a mess you have made!"

" _My_  mess?!" he yelled and blasted her into the wall. She groaned and slid down the wall. "None of this would have happened if you –"

"If  _what_?" she spat and quickly rose to her feet. "This was  _your_  idea, Ares!" she poked his chest and he snarled, towering over her. "I did my part."

"No you didn't!" he scoffed and walked away, rubbing his bearded chin. He needed to help find the Kronos Stone and the only way to do that was to help Hercules, a person he despised. "I'm going to Olympus to tell everyone what you've done, Hebe and then you will be sorry. Bet on it."

She laughed loudly and he spun around, breathing heavily. "I'll be sorry?!" she placed her hand to chest to calm her laughter. "Just wait until father hears what plan you concocted, brother. It was your idea to mess with a mortal and time. He will be most disappointed in you, Ares!" she laughed once more and disappeared from sight, her laugh still lingering and ringing in the war god's ears.

"Damn," he muttered under his breath. He vanished from his temple.

* * *

Gabrielle and Xena left the Telaquire Amazons soon after they left Ares' temple and spoke to him about the Kronos Stone. Gabrielle was able to convince Ephiny to move the Amazons to a safer location so Caesar and his Roman army wouldn't invade the tribes, but she was certain that the Amazons weren't going to sit and hide. She knew that they weren't ones for hiding but the Romans were vicious and attacked anyone and everyone in their paths. Caesar didn't want the Amazons' help. He just wanted to use them and he was known to betray others. Xena was right, no matter what age she was. She was always right.

They walked through the outskirts of Corinth, heading towards the Gulf of Corinth and if they were lucky, they could find a merchant ship that connected to Delphi and hopefully find Hercules. After asking around it was revealed that Hercules and Iolaus were in Delphi but knowing those two, Gabrielle knew that they weren't going to stay in Delphi for long. Hercules was always needed somewhere but Xena needed help and hopefully, they would meet up with them in time to fix this awful mess Ares created.

Gabrielle held onto Argo as they trampled through the thick forest, only a few miles away from the stretch of water that parted between Corinth and Delphi. Gabrielle cringed when she stepped in mud and got her favorite boots super dirty. This wasn't her day she realized.

Meanwhile, Xena jumped up and grabbed onto every tree branch, swinging back and forth behind Gabrielle. She leaped into the air and held onto a large branch with a big smile on her face. Gabrielle groaned and halted, wondering what was the best way to travel to the coastline.

Turning around, she saw Xena swinging from a tree branch and frowned. "Just  _what_  do you think you're doing?" she griped.

"There's a little thing called 'fun', Gabrielle. Ever heard of it?" Xena retorted and jumped down onto the ground. She spotted the chakram on the blonde's hip and reached for it.

Gabrielle, with her quick reflexes, grabbed hold of the weapon before Xena could. "I'm not going to let you come within five feet of this," she said and the teen's eyes narrowed.

"But it's mine." Xena folded her arms. "Isn't that what you said?"

 _You are nothing like the Xena that I know_. The bard sighed, "yes, it's yours but you don't know how to use it so I'm keeping it until I get you back to your normal self." She turned around and surveyed the area. "Now, which way to the coast," she rubbed her chin.

Xena grinned sneakily and snatched the chakram from Gabrielle's belt and took off with it. Gabrielle gasped. "Xena! Come back!" she yelled and saw the lithe girl running through the forest. Groaning she yanked on Argo's reins but the horse wouldn't move. "Oh, forget it," she muttered and decided to go after Xena on foot.

Gabrielle ran through the brush, frantically searching for her friend –her friend that was beginning to annoy her with each passing day. She finally caught up to her when she saw Xena sitting on a tree branch, eating an apple.

Her heart beating quickly and already even more irritated than she was a few minutes ago. "Xena!" she growled and the teenager lifted her head, chewing on the fruit slowly. "What are you doing?!"

Xena hopped down from the tree and twirled the chakram around her finger while holding an apple in the other. "Having fun. Jeez Gabrielle you should really lighten up."

The bard pinched the bridge of her nose and breathed in deeply, trying to control her temper. "We are supposed to go to Delphi to find Hercules. We don't have time to have  _fun_  or play games!"

Xena frowned and tossed the apple core on the ground. "Alright, fine. So which way do we go?" she asked.

"It'll take you ladies too long to find my brother," Ares appeared, leaning on a tree. Xena spun around and glared at the war god. He cast a charming smile to the teenage warrior princess. "Hello again."

"Ares," Xena said flatly.

Gabrielle withdrew her Sais from her boots and pointed them both at the god of war. Ares sauntered over to them and she pushed Xena out of the way. "Gabrielle, you know you can't do anything to me so why keep trying?"

"Because it's more satisfying to see a weapon piercing your heart," the bard smirked. His upper lip quivered in response and clenched his fist. "What do you want?"

"I came to help you," he said sincerely and Gabrielle let out a mocking laugh. "I'm serious."

"Yeah, right, Ares. You only help yourself.  _Obviously_ ," she motioned to the teenage Xena standing beside her.

He groaned. "Just listen to me!" he yelled and she lowered her Sais. "We have three days to turn Xena back. If we don't then she'll stay this way forever." He saw the bard's eyes widen and Xena's jaw drop. "That's right. So you want my help now, eh?" he folded his arms.

"What did you have in mind?" she asked and couldn't believe she was actually agreeing to listen to him. She kept having to remind herself that she was doing this for Xena.

"I could send you to my brother, Hercules. Since he knows where the stone is and all..." he smiled over at Xena and she crinkled her nose, clutching onto the chakram.

"But you want something in return," Gabrielle gathered.

He turned back to the blonde with an enticing smile. "You know what I want, Gabrielle. Give me Xena when we turn her back or I won't help you."

"Forget it!" she spat.

Xena bit her bottom lip and watched the two glaring at each other, arguing back and forth. She didn't want to stay this way forever and obviously she was deemed an important person to everyone, especially Gabrielle but Ares too. But on the other hand she would never know what awful things she had done if she remained this way. But then there was Gabrielle. She was her friend, supposedly, and that would be very selfish to remain this age especially after everything she has done and is willing to do to help.

"I'll do it," Xena blurted out and Gabrielle whipped her head around with wide wary eyes.

"Xena. No." She ran to her and grabbed hold of her thin arms. "You have no idea what you're doing."

Xena snarled and pushed Gabrielle aside. "You heard what he said, Gabrielle! We only have three days and we won't make it in time to meet with Hercules. If he...helps us then we can get the stone."

Gabrielle creased her eyebrows. "Xena. You don't understand!" she shouted and saw Xena walking over to the war god. "Xena!"

"Take us to Hercules," Xena stared into Ares' dark menacing eyes and he smiled smugly.

Ares turned to the fuming blonde. "Are you coming or what, Gabrielle?" he held out his hand and she grimaced. Marching forward she grabbed his hand and Xena lowered her eyes from embarrassment and shame. "To Athens we go."

"Athens?!" Gabrielle spat and the three vanished from Corinth.

* * *

Moments later the trio arrived in the countryside of Athens and Gabrielle fell onto the ground while Xena remained clutched to Ares much to her dismay. The teenager pushed the god away and he winked at her. Slowly, she backed away and bumped into her friend, toppling over her. Ares shook his head at the clumsy teen warrior.

"I can't wait until you get back to your normal self," he grumbled. "Good luck." He said and disappeared.

Xena growled and hopped to her feet while Gabrielle was struggling to stand. "That bastard."

Gabrielle smirked and stood, brushing her short skirt. "Now you're sounding like your normal self." She said and then angrily spun around, shoving her friend backward. "What in Gaia's name do you think you're doing?! Making a deal with Ares!" she shoved her again.

"Quit it, Gabrielle!" Xena held her hands close to her face and she was pushed again by her irate friend. "I said, stop!" she clocked Gabrielle in the jaw and then gasped, realizing what she just did. "I –I'm sorry..."

The bard wiped blood from her lip and frowned at Xena. "It's fine...just...stick close to me and we'll find Hercules." She walked away and rubbed her sore jaw.

"Aren't you going to hit me back?" Xena ran behind her, clipping the chakram to her belt.

"No, I'm not," the bard grumbled. Although, it was tempting but Xena wasn't herself at the moment. It would be unfair. "Let's just focus on finding Hercules and Iolaus. We'll deal with Ares later."

The teen quirked her mouth and twiddled with her thumbs behind her back. "What is so bad about him anyway?" she asked and Gabrielle spun around. "I mean...I know he is the God of War and all. But he wants to help us. Why would he do that?"

"Did you not listen to anything he said?" Gabrielle scoffed and marched off. "He wants you Xena and you practically said yes! How stupid could you –" she stopped herself. "He doesn't want to help you. He wants to destroy you."

Xena sighed, not really understanding any of this. "I'm assuming that he's done something like this before?"

"Yes." The bard answered curtly with no desire to go into detail about Ares' antics. She was focused on finding Hercules. Now, approaching the inner city of Athens she hoped she would be able to find the pair very quickly unless Ares sent them on a wild goose chase, but that wasn't likely. He wanted Xena and he wasn't going to allow her to remain a girl forever. He was out for himself, as usual.

"Can I hold onto the chakram?" Xena asked with a sly grin on her face.

Gabrielle arched an eyebrow and kept walking. "You already have it so what's the point in asking me since you stole it."

"Well, it's  _mine_  so I should be the one to hold onto it," Xena said and heard the blonde groan lowly. "I promise I won't use it." she said and Gabrielle ignored her. "You don't trust me?"

"Not really, no." the bard said and weaved through the crowd, asking around to see if anyone had seen Hercules in the city.

Xena frowned and then realized a lot of people were gawking at her just like the Amazons did. Their eyes traveled to the chakram on her hip and she snarled at them and they quickly averted their eyes. Gabrielle grabbed her arm, pulling her through the sea of people.

"Come on. I think we have a lead." Gabrielle smiled. Finally, some hope, she thought.

"Everyone is staring at me again..." Xena mumbled and hid her face as she was being pushed around by people and Gabrielle kept pulling her.

"Just ignore them. We have bigger problems to worry about." Gabrielle squinted her eyes and saw Hercules and Iolaus walking out of the city. "Hercules! Wait!" she shouted and ran to the pair. Xena nearly tripped over a few boots blocking her way.

She was really starting to get irritated at everyone in her way. She shoved a man aside and he fell into a fruit stand. Brushing the dirt off her flouncy blouse, she smiled and he gawked up at her, obviously recognizing her face or a familiarity of it. She walked off to meet with Gabrielle and this so-called Hercules.

Iolaus' jaw dropped when he saw the thin tall teenager walking over behind Gabrielle. "Oh wow." He nudged his friend in the ribs. "Ares wasn't kidding," he whispered.

Xena smiled and crossed her arms, cocking her head to the side as she examined Hercules. "I thought he would be taller."

Iolaus laughed. "But still has the jokes, I see," he muttered and Hercules rolled his eyes.

"Let me guess," Hercules turned to Gabrielle, "you're here to find the Kronos Stone."

She nodded. "Ares sent us here."

"Of course he did," the demigod sighed heavily and noticed Xena sizing him up with her curious icy blue eyes. "Okay..." he cleared his throat and felt his cheeks redden. "He asked you to help me is that it?"

The bard sighed. "He told us that we only have three days to turn Xena back to the way she was before. If we don't get the stone in time then she remains this age forever. I can't allow her to stay like this."

"That is a problem..." Hercules rubbed his chin and caught Xena's eyes on him again.

She nodded and really wanted to skip all the formalities. They already lost all of their morning walking to the Gulf of Corinth and she didn't want to waste any more time. "So, where are the pieces? Where do we start looking?"

"Well..." he began and he felt Xena's eyes burning into his arm. He turned so he wasn't able to make eye contact with her. This situation was weird enough as it is. "There's a village across the river nearby. I hid one of the pieces there, but the second piece is near the Centaurs and the other...near Ares' Hall of War."

Gabrielle gasped. "What?! And he doesn't  _know_?"

He covered her mouth. "Don't mention it to him." He said and turned to see Xena with her arms folded, still gawking. "Why does she keep looking at me like that?" he whispered to Gabrielle.

She shrugged, "I don't understand  _any_  of the things she's been doing lately. Let's just focus on getting the pieces." She walked over and grabbed her friend's arm. "He's going to help us." She smiled and Xena frowned, walking forward to catch up with Hercules and his short blonde friend.

"So, you're my  _friend_ , right?" she pried and Hercules grinned nervously.

"You could say that, yes." He turned and she creased her eyebrows.

"And how long have we known each other?" she asked and Iolaus stifled a laugh. "What's so funny?" she cast a glare to the blonde.

Iolaus ruffled his hair and turned to Gabrielle to help and she shrugged her shoulders. "N –nothing, Xena. Nothing's funny."

"Are you my friend too?" she asked and he nodded, rubbing the back of his neck. "I must have a lot of friends," she smiled and walked ahead of everyone. "So, we going to find this Kronos Stone or what?" she winked then sauntered off ahead of the group.

Iolaus leaned over to Gabrielle, "how long as she been like this?" he whispered.

"A few days." She sighed as she watched Xena twirl the chakram in her hand.

"And she has no idea who she was... _is_...?" he frowned, not quite sure what to make of this odd situation they were all lumped into now thanks to Ares and his meddling.

She nodded. "It's really starting to get on my nerves..." she grumbled.

Xena turned around, walking backwards and eyed the demigod. "We're friends, right? Tell me how I met you."

Hercules laughed nervously and Gabrielle ran up to his side. "I don't think this is the best time for stories, Xena." She said and the teen pursed her lips and turned around, her back now to them.

"Well, this is going to be a boring journey if we don't talk to each other," she said and looked over her shoulder with mirth in her eyes and a charismatic smile at Hercules and Gabrielle. "Go on. Tell me."

"How 'bout no," Gabrielle interrupted before Hercules could get a word in.

"I already have a mother, Gabrielle," Xena chided. "And I wasn't talking to  _you_  anyway. So, Hercules, go on." She smiled and he sighed heavily. Iolaus slapped his forehead as he trailed behind his friends.

"I think you might be a little young to hear that story," Hercules implied and Iolaus' face flushed bright red. Gabrielle frowned, leering up at him as they walked together.

Xena shot a glare towards him. "Fine but I'll find out sooner or later."

Hercules sighed. "I'm going to kill Ares," he mumbled under his breath.

"Get in line," Gabrielle said.


	6. Chapter 6

**It's been awhile, guys. Enjoy and good luck ;)**

Chapter 6

In the outskirts of a small village near the large city of Athens, Hercules guided everyone to a secret underground cave where he hid the broken piece of the Kronos Stone. Gabrielle, Xena and Iolaus waited patiently, well some were more patient than others, above ground while Hercules scouted the underground lair in search of the stone.

Xena let out a large breathy exhale, growing bored of waiting. "Has he found it yet?"

Gabrielle frowned and peered over in the hole but there was no sign of Hercules yet. "It's a large area."

"Well, if he buried it then surely he knows where it is," Xena folded her arms. Gabrielle groaned and stood from her kneeling position and turned to her friend. "I'm just saying," the teen shrugged her shoulder with a smug smirk.

Hercules hopped out of the hole and Iolaus walked over and raised an eyebrow. He didn't see the stone and that was not a good sign. "Where is it?" he asked.

"It seems that someone has taken it..." the demigod said and sighed heavily.

"This is just great!" Gabrielle threw her hands in the air out of frustration. "Now what are we going to do?"

Hercules looked back at the village swarmed with people. "We should go ask around and see if anyone knows anything about the stone. That'll be our best bet. It didn't just get up and walk away," he chuckled and then received a harsh glare from Gabrielle. He cleared his throat and started walking back to the village.

Xena rolled her eyes and walked behind everyone, slumping her shoulders. She was getting tired of walking around so much in search for this stone. She was starting to believe that the dreaded thing didn't even exist.

"I don't know about you guys but I'm starving," she complained and Gabrielle pinched the bridge of her nose. She heard Iolaus snickering ahead. "What's so funny curly?" she hissed.

Hercules smiled softly and turned to Gabrielle, "why don't you two go to a tavern and eat something. Iolaus and I will ask around about the stone."

"We don't have a lot of time!" Gabrielle panicked.

"We'll find the stone, Gabrielle," he reassured her. "Besides, you two have been traveling a lot. We'll meet up in the square in an hour. Sound good?"

Gabrielle sighed and looked over at Xena who was staring intently at her. "Fine..." she grabbed Xena's arm, "come on." She went in the opposite direction towards the village taverns.

* * *

Later, Xena sat at a table with Gabrielle drinking some water and Xena kept eyeing all the men surrounding them gawking of course. She was also getting tired of people staring at her. It seemed she was more popular than she originally thought. Gabrielle slumped in the chair as she impatiently waited for someone to bring them food but they were taking so long. They only had an hour until they met up with Hercules and Iolaus and this place was filled with people.

She tapped her fingers on the table incessantly and then abruptly stood up. "I'm going to ask them what's taking so long." She marched off to the innkeeper so fast that Xena couldn't even respond.

The teenager frowned and swished the water in her cup, exhaling deeply. She already told herself that she could be stuck like this forever and came to terms with it yesterday when they were talking to Ares while visiting the Amazons. She knew Gabrielle was trying her best to find a way to reverse what ever happened to her, but if she failed in finding the stone in time, then Xena would be stuck like this forever.

Coming to the realization that this might happen, she wanted to make sure that would be the best friend that Gabrielle could have, given their age difference. So far, she got the feeling that Gabrielle was very annoyed with her or maybe she was annoyed that she couldn't magically fix this problem on her own and needed Ares to help her. The God of War wasn't exactly on the top of the bard's favorite list and Xena realized that very quickly.

"Feeling lonely?" Ares asked and Xena gasped, surprised by his sudden appearance. He sat across the small table from her. Xena's eyes darted around and he chuckled. "Nobody can see me, only  _you_  can," he whispered. "So, about our agreement."

She sighed. "I already said yes. What more do you want?"

He cocked his eyebrow and rubbed his beard. This definitely was not the same Xena that he was used to. If this was the normal Xena she would have told him to get lost or maybe even tell him something obscene. He wasn't sure if he liked this younger naive version Xena or if he was a little freaked out by her innocent demure. Either way, he was still curious by the lack of mistrust she had as a girl. Could this really be the woman he had mentored while she was a young warlord?

"Gabrielle probably told you not to trust me, right?" he leaned in closer and she bit her bottom lip, turning around to find Gabrielle arguing with the innkeeper. "Yeah, thought so." He said. "You should trust me, Xena. I know you just as well as Gabrielle does. In fact, I know you better than she ever will. I know your dark side, your powerful side."

Xena's eyes darkened and she folded her arms on the table, leaning in close to the war god. His eyes grew and he leaned in towards her. "There's nothing  _powerful_  about murdering innocent people," she hissed then she backed away, scooting away from the table and crossed one leg over the other, averting her gaze.

He frowned and stood from the chair, glaring at the teenager. "Just remember our agreement Xena. I'm holding it over your head."

Xena scoffed. "Hold  _this_ ," she grabbed the cup of water and threw it in his face, but he already disappeared and then saw Gabrielle standing in front of her with a tray of food. She gasped and covered her mouth. "Gabrielle...I..."

Gabrielle frowned and slammed the tray of food on the table and wiped her wet face with her hands. "You know, I'm not sure if I want to know why..." she sighed and Xena stood, immediately wiping her face with her long sleeve. "Just...don't. Just eat this."

The teen frowned sadly. "I'm really sorry, Gabrielle. That wasn't meant for you."

The blonde shot her friend a mocking smile. "Oh yeah? Who was it for then?" she dried her face off with a cloth and sat down at the table.

"Ares was just here. He was talking to me and I was supposed to throw the water in his face...not yours," Xena said with a sheepish grin.

"Ares," Gabrielle nodded. "Of course. Next time, get your aim right," she sighed. "Aren't you going to eat that?"

Xena shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not really hungry anymore..."

Gabrielle gasped and slammed her fist on the table. "Oh no, you're gonna eat this! I didn't go through all this trouble for you to not eat it!"

Xena immediately plopped down in the chair with big fearful eyes. She took a bite out of the dried fruit and the bard smiled tightly.

" _Good_."

The teen set down the fruit and stared at the bard while she was still drying her face and rubbing off the water from her top. "Gabrielle..." she began and the blonde lifted her eyes. "I just wanted to let you know that you're an amazing friend for doing all of this for me. If we can't find the stone in time and if I'll be stuck like this forever then...I'm happy to be by your side." She smiled.

Gabrielle gave a shy grin. "Well that's not going to happen because I'm going to fix you, I promised you that –promised myself." She said and saw the teen's eyes dip downward. "But thank you. I said I would be there for you no matter what and I meant that. I know you have no idea what I'm talking about..." she sighed and felt a headache coming on.

"I think I do," Xena said and the bard finally smiled sincerely. "Hey maybe you could teach me how to fight. And maybe I can get some new armor that actually fits me. What do you think?"

 _Teach Xena how to fight, that's something you will never hear_. "As enticing as that sounds...I don't think we'll need to. We're going to turn you back."

"Just in case," Xena said with a big smile on her face while eating the rest of the dried fruit.

* * *

Iolaus ran up to Hercules in the center of the square. He breathed heavily and ran his hand across his sweaty forehead. "Did you find anything?" he asked in baited breath.

Hercules frowned and saw a group of priests huddled outside of a temple. He also saw something inside the temple. "No but I think I might have found something just now.." he ran towards the temple and Iolaus rolled his eyes then reluctantly followed him.

The priests walked into the large temple and closed the doors behind them, all but two were left. Hercules called out, "hey! Wait!" and the two elderly priests turned around.

"Hercules," the priest greeted with a smile.

"I'm looking for a piece of the missing Kronos Stone. Do you happen to know where it could be?" he asked.

The priests shared a nervous glance. "Well, of course. It is in our temple."

Iolaus smiled. "Well that's great so you wouldn't mind if we took a look at it?" he pried.

"I'm sorry but only followers of Helios are allowed in the temple," he said and Iolaus folded his arms. Hercules sighed and placed a hand on his hip.

"The Titan? You're praying to a Titan instead of a god?" Iolaus asked.

"Never mind that," Hercules said and smiled at the priest. "I left the stone here awhile back. I really need the piece of the stone back."

The two priests frowned and began walking up the stairs to enter the temple. Hercules panicked. "That stone doesn't belong to you!"

"It doesn't belong to you either, Hercules," the priest snidely said and the two disappeared into the temple of Helios.

Gabrielle and Xena caught up with the two standing in front of the temple. "So, any luck finding the stone?" the bard inquired.

"Yeah, it's in the temple of Helios," Iolaus answered.

"It's probably heavily guarded too. It's not like we can just waltz in there and take it." Hercules folded his arms and began formulating a plan.

Xena stepped forward. "Well what are we waiting for? Let's steal it and get out of here," she said with a big mischievous grin on her lips. Gabrielle eyed her curiously and Iolaus blinked rapidly.

"We can't just go in there. We need a plan," Hercules interrupted and rubbed his chin pensively. He spotted the roof of the temple. There had to be an opening up there somewhere.

"Right, yeah," the teen nodded. "So what are we doing? I want to help."

Gabrielle sighed and folded her arms. "I'd rather you not get involved, Xena."

Xena frowned sourly. "Come on, I can help. You all are doing so much for me. Let me do something!"

Hercules groaned and turned around. "Alright, Xena. You can help," he said and the lithe teen's eyes lit up.

"Excuse me?" the bard scoffed.

"I have an idea."

* * *

After the sermon inside of the Temple of Helios, Hercules and Iolaus remained on the ground while Xena and Gabrielle were on the roof overlooking the small dome opening that was centered directly over the altar that held the large chunk of the Kronos Stone. Gabrielle wasn't sure if this plan was going to work and she really didn't want Xena to help at all. So far, her helping just ended in disaster.

Gabrielle tied the rope around Xena's ankles and then tied off the rope to a large column on top of the roof. She sighed and turned to the anxious teenager. "Are you sure you're ready for this?"

Xena nodded her head vigorously. "I'm ready." She said then Gabrielle held onto the rope while Xena slowly lowered herself into the temple upside down. She made sure her chakram was firmly planted on her belt loop and then gave Gabrielle a thumbs up from below.

The bard shook her head and already saw chaos ahead of them. Hercules and Iolaus were supposed to be guarding the outside of the temple in case anyone came in. "Remember, just grab the stone and I'll pull you back up," she whispered.

"I got it, Gabrielle." Xena said and she spotted the stone a few feet below her. Slowly, Gabrielle lowered Xena, watching her dangling her arms inch closer to the altar. Xena's eyes lit up and she extended her hands, reaching her fingertips for the stone.

Carefully, she lifted the stone off the altar and exhaled deeply. "I got it!" she yelled up at Gabrielle. "That was easy." She dangled in the air and then heard a whooshing sound coming right towards her. She gasped and saw a dagger flying at her face. She panicked and lifted herself up then saw a knife slice through the rope.

The rope cut and she fell to the floor. Gabrielle gasped. "Xena!" she yelled and saw the teenager on the floor. Of course this place would be rigged with traps. That was too easy. Leaning over the dome she spotted guards coming out narrow hallways. "Xena! Look out!"

The teenager sat up and saw men running towards her. "Oh no." she tried to untie the ropes around her ankles but she wasn't fast enough. She grabbed the chakram and cut through the ropes then hopped to her feet. She smiled at the men and held the stone in one hand and the chakram in the other. The guards eyed her suspiciously and she jumped onto the altar.

"I knew this was a bad idea," Gabrielle grumbled. She saw the men surrounding Xena as she was standing on the altar, taunting them. "What is she doing..."

Xena smiled wildly. "You want this, huh?" she held up the stone, waving it back and forth. "Come and get it!" she jumped over the altar and somersaulted on the ground then quickly took off running, by passing all of the guards.

She pushed the doors open and Hercules saw Xena bolt out of the temple. "Some lookouts you are!" she yelled back at them. Iolaus whipped his head around and saw a slew of guards chasing after Xena. He shared a shocked look with Hercules then the two took off running.

Gabrielle hopped off the roof and saw the men chasing Xena around the square. And she also saw Xena was laughing while evading the temple guards. Gabrielle cocked her eyebrow and stood off watching Xena slip into small spaces and the men clumsily ran into vendor carts trying to grab her. Amused, she folded her arms and didn't bother to help. Hercules was busy beating up a few men while Iolaus was distracting others. Perhaps, there was a bit of the Xena that Gabrielle knew in this thin little warrior teen after all.

Xena jumped onto a fountain ledge and balanced herself, walking around the circular stone fountain of the Goddess, Artemis. She grinned and held the stone high into the air. "You boys are going to have to try harder than that." She teased the soldiers.

Hebe appeared, sitting on top of the statue of Artemis and snatched the broken Kronos Stone from Xena's hand. "Thank you," she said and Xena gasped. The goddess waved her hand then disappeared from sight. All the men surrounded the fountain with mouths agape in shock.

"The stone! It's gone!" the head priest of the temple ran forward with his colleagues behind him. He glared at the young teenager. "Get her!"

Gabrielle's eyes widened and then decided this wasn't amusing anymore. She ran forward and grabbed Xena's hand. "Time to go!"

"But the stone!" Xena exclaimed as she was being forcefully pulled by the petite bard.

"We'll figure that out later!" Gabrielle ran through the large sea of people, trying to escape from the angry priests and their minions.

Xena looked over her shoulder while the temple guards were still chasing them. Hercules and Iolaus were only able to fight off so many. She frowned and snatched her hand away from Gabrielle. "Who was that?!"

"Does it matter? Probably Ares' stupid minions or something." Gabrielle's jaw dropped when she saw Xena standing frozen and the men were running straight for her. "Xena, what are you doing?!"

"Looking for the guard that tripped me," Xena narrowed her eyes searching for that man in the group. A devious smile graced her lips. " _You_!" she pointed her chakram at him.

Gabrielle slapped her forehead. "This is not the time to test your fighting skills, Xena!" although, this was probably the first time she had actually seen colors of her regular warrior friend. Now, she was beginning to worry when she saw that look in Xena's eyes –that look, that really vengeful yet playful look. She almost wanted to smile, but she had to focus.

"Xena! We don't have time for this. Let's go! Hercules can handle them." She waved her hand and Xena refused to listen. Gabrielle saw the chakram fly right towards the huddle of men and she dropped to the ground, covering the back of her head in fear of the ricocheting weapon.

Xena followed the pattern of the chakram and all of the me ducked, some fell over one another and the chakram eventually came back to her. She jumped up and caught it with ease and smiled at the men. "Boys," she bowed her head then hurdled over Gabrielle. "Come on, Gabrielle! What're doing on the ground?!"

Gabrielle frowned and quickly got to her feet to chase after the teenager. She never realized how fast Xena could run, or maybe she didn't run super fast because of her heavy armor, but she felt like she could be in the Olympic games with those thin long legs of hers.

Hercules and Iolaus caught up with Xena and Gabrielle. Now they were far from the village and hopefully those temple guards wouldn't follow them anymore. Gabrielle bent over, hands on knees and heaved heavily. Iolaus snorted and slapped her on the back teasingly.

"Winded, Gabby?" he laughed lightly. Gabrielle narrowed her eyebrows and elbowed him in the gut. He cringed and took a generous step backward.

Xena folded her arms and looked at Hercules. "I'm sorry about the stone. She just took it from me!"

"Yeah, who was that?" Iolaus hid behind his friend from Gabrielle.

Hercules sighed. "Hebe. She is Ares' sister. Obviously she's in on it."

That rang a bell in Gabrielle's mind. "He  _did_  mention his sister to Xena and I..."

"She's the Goddess of Youth. She's the one who made Xena like this and she needs the Kronos Stone to turn Xena back. She can't reverse her own spell," Hercules shook his head at the audacity of these gods meddling in mortal lives for their own amusement.

Xena groaned. "So, what do we do now?"

"We go to the Centaurs and find the other piece and then the last piece is near the Halls of War. We only have two days left so we should get a move on." Hercules grabbed hold of Iolaus' shoulder and lead the way.

Gabrielle rubbed the back of her neck and Xena skipped ahead to walk beside her. "This is all my fault. If I would have just paid attention I would still have the stone," the teen griped.

The bard smiled and nudged Xena's arm. "It's not your fault. Gods do this all the time. They don't play fair. They play by their own rules." She said and Xena quirked her mouth, feeling a bit embarrassed. "But there is something strange about this. If Hebe and Ares are working together to get the stone I have a feeling that Ares isn't really here to help you."

"But he said –"

"Ares  _says_  a lot of things. We can't let him or Hebe take the last two pieces. We need to get the rest of the stone from them somehow. Ares is known to go back on his promises."

Xena nodded, sort of understanding. She felt like she didn't belong here. Her life was a chaotic mess and she put all of these people in danger and here she was, a ill skilled fighter and basically a naive child in this world.

She decided to change the subject to something less grim. "So, where are these Centaurs," she air quoted.

"They're nearby the Amazons."

Xena scoffed. "Back to Corinth?"

"That's right," Gabrielle chuckled.

"All the action happens in Corinth it seems," Xena said and the bard shrugged a shoulder. "Come on, I will race you!" she challenged.

The blonde wagged her head. "Oh no, I've had enough running for now."

"Aweh come on, Gabrielle! You're spoiling my mood!" Xena grinned from ear to ear.

Gabrielle smiled and saw the bright beaming face of her friend. She never had seen her so happy before. The innocence of a child was something that was taken from Xena long ago. Sure, Xena had her moments of happiness and glee but nothing like this. But even now, she did see some of her friend in those blue eyes. The same big smile and excitement that Xena had right before a fight. The thrill of it all. Gabrielle witnessed that moment back there with those temple guards. A small glimpse of her friend that she thought was lost to her was there inside somewhere.

* * *

Hebe appeared in the Halls of War and saw Ares bored out of his mind sitting on this throne. She waved the broken piece of the Kronos Stone in his face and he hopped out of the throne. His bitter mood was now gone.

"Look what I got, brother!" she squealed. "It's so pretty," she lifted the stone, catching the light in the emerald stone.

He snatched the stone from her hand and she grimaced, folding her arms. She pouted like a child. He grinned, admiring the Titan stone. "Excellent. You have done well, Hebe. You will get the other two pieces from them when they are found, right?" he turned to her.

She rolled her eyes. "Of course I will!" she sauntered over to her brother and traced her fingers along his muscular arm. "We could use the stone for whatever we want. You get your mortal woman back and then we could do so much more!"

Ares' eyes grew in awe. "You want to use the stone for yourself?" he asked, a bit surprised.

She scoffed. "What's the point of obtaining the most valuable item to the Olympians if we can't use it to our own advantage? You could wage your silly wars against Athena in Athens and I could have a bit of fun with some mortals myself."

"Hebe...I'm shocked that you would do this," a delicious smile appeared on his face. "I like it."

"I'm not all  _that_  innocent, brother. You really don't know me," she winked.

"Apparently not..." he lifted the stone and grinned. He could do so much more with this stone and that something would be Xena. He was going to change her back alright. He was going to do so much more than reverse her age. Her child-like behavior was not to his liking. Normal Xena was a delight too, but he wanted more. He could finally achieve his original goal with this stone.


	7. Chapter 7

**Good luck everybody :D**

Chapter 7

Ares sat upon his throne with one leg dangling over the large armrest as he ogled the Kronos Stone. He had the most powerful relic on earth. It was enough to shake the grounds of Olympus and even Zeus would never get set foot near this stone. He once used it to cast the Titans from Olympus long ago. The stone remained hidden for so long and Hercules just had to ruin everything and break the weapon of destruction. Thinking of all the things he could do with this stone, Ares was already planning it out.

He wanted it all. He could have everything he ever wanted with this stone so as long as his sister did what she promised to do. Retrieve the other pieces from Hercules and the rest of the gang and together, they could create a new Olympus, a new world –a world filled with chaos and war.

Discord, Ares' little sister, appeared in the Halls of War and he lifted his eyes briefly, already annoyed by her presence. The sassy short Goddess of Chaos folded her arms and glared at the stone her elder brother held within his grasp.

"So, it's true!" she yelled and he smirked.

"That I have a piece of the Kronos Stone? Word gets around fast, huh?" he smiled and hopped off his throne. "With this I can achieve so much. I can have the world, Olympus –"

"And your mortal warrior," Discord said bitterly. "Ares, I want in on the action. Hebe squealed and now everyone on Olympus knows you possess the stone. I want to use it too!" she pouted like a whiny teenager.

He groaned and shoved her into the wall. His fingertips grazed the emerald stone, holding it close to his chest like a mother would to its child. "As if I would let you come anywhere near this, Discord!"

She leapt from the floor and brushed the dirt off her leather skirt and flung her dark hair behind her shoulder. "Listen, brother, you are going to cut me on the deal! I want the stone!" she charged for him and grabbed the stone from his hand and smiled deviously.

Growling, the war god threw a flash of lightening at her and she flew across the room and landed on the chandelier above his head. He laughed manically and retrieved the stone from her hands. "Nice effort, but not good enough. You'll never be good enough. Get out of my temple, Discord." He turned and walked back to his throne to continue gawking at the stone in awe.

The little goddess huffed and jumped off the chandelier and frowned with disdain. "How 'bout I help you out, brother?" she smiled, sauntering over to his throne. Ares raised a thick brow and she hopped into his lap. "I could get the other piece for you. I know where Hercules is. I get the second piece and you cut me in on the stone. What do ya say, Ares?"

"I say..." he pushed her off his lap and she yelped, "no!" he grumbled. "You aren't cut out for something so great, Discord. You are nothing but a disappointment to me."

"Aweh, Ares!" she whined, "come on, I can prove to you that I am a worthy student. You are the best mentor after all." She crawled on the floor and grabbed onto his knees, resting her chin on his legs. She batted her eyelashes. "Come on..." she hissed.

He rolled his eyes and tapped his fingers on the stone. "Fine. You get the piece before Hebe does and bring it to me and I will  _consider_  cutting you in."

She grinned and stood upright. "I won't let you down, brother."

* * *

Gabrielle walked alongside Hercules as they were approaching Centaur territory. "We have less than a day to get the third piece after we retrieve this one," she whispered. Looking behind her, she saw Xena walking with Iolaus and listened to him telling Xena about all the adventures they had together a few years ago.

This version of Xena was so innocent and pure. She almost hated to see that innocence be wiped out and gone forever. She wished that she could preserve that part of her friend that had been lost for a very long time, but she also wanted her old Xena back.

Hercules nodded and quickened his pace. "I know. Ares' Halls of War is not far from here. He likes to keep a temple near the Amazons and Centaurs just so he can stir up some trouble."

"Right. Let's get moving then," she said and turned to Xena behind her. "Xena! Come on! We're getting close!" she said and the teenager smiled, running up beside her.

"We actually saved Prometheus from Hera!" said the young Xena. "And Iolaus almost died! We have such an exciting life together, Gabrielle."

The bard's cheeks flushed slightly. "We definitely do and there's so much you still don't know."

Xena's eyes grew with excitement. "I would like to hear about it sometime." She said and saw the blonde's smile fade. "Well, I mean, I want to be normal like you said, but if I'm stuck like this then I want to hear everything. I could change the world!"

 _Something like that_ , the bard thought. "Let's just focus on getting the stone and we can talk about this later." She pat her friend's shoulder and caught up with Hercules.

A little while later the group was halted by Hercules. He lead them all to the outskirts of the Centaur camp. Iolaus frowned and ran forward. "What is it?"

"We aren't alone..." Hercules whispered and hid behind a brush. He saw Caesar's army inside the Centaur's camp. "Romans."

Xena knelt down beside the demigod and saw the Romans and Caesar was with them. He was just with the Amazons. He was obviously making his rounds and it seemed that the Amazons abandoned him in his quest to dominate the entire area of Corinth.

"Caesar," she snarled. "So, what's the plan? Do we take him down or what?" she smiled and pulled out her chakram.

Gabrielle gripped the teen's shoulder. "No. We aren't going anywhere near Caesar."

"Why not? We can take him!" Xena rose and Gabrielle pulled her back down.

"We aren't going up against Caesar!" she hissed. Suddenly, this conversation felt all too familiar and she didn't want to repeat anything that happened with Xena and Caesar in the past. "We don't have time for this. We're here to get the stone not to engage with an entire army."

Xena groaned and clasped her chakram back on her belt loop. She peered over at Hercules and he gave her a soft smirk. "Alright. So, what do we do? We can't just go in the camp now that the Romans are there."

Hercules nodded. "Sounding more and more like your old self," he mused. "Iolaus and I will go into the camp. You and Gabrielle stay here and we'll come get you when it's safe." He said and nudged his head over to his blonde friend.

Xena plopped down onto the grass and sighed heavily. Gabrielle kept her eyes open for any Romans that might be coming their way. While Xena began picking at weeds to pass the time she felt a stabbing pain in her head. She moaned and squeezed her head in between her palms, gritting her teeth.

Gabrielle whipped her head around and saw Xena writhing in agony. "Xena! Are you alright?" she crawled over to her friend and touched her cheek. "Can you hear me? Xena?" she pat her cheek but her young friend remained unresponsive.

Xena's eyes opened and she gasped as if the air was being sucked from her lungs. Staring off into a daze, she felt Gabrielle's touch, but could not see her or hear her. She heard, something else, something from her past.

_"You're going up against Caesar, huh?" Ares mused with a dramatic sigh._

_"I am helping a friend," Xena combated._

_"Oh yeah, sure, sure," the war god said. "That must be great for the masses, but we really know don't we?" he said and paused. "You know, Caesar and I talk, now and then. But don't get jealous, I don't always answer him." He smiled and Xena eyed him curiously. "He's got this temple. I told him he should destroy it but he hasn't yet. It sure must be important to him..."_

_Xena frowned and spoke softly, "Caesar doesn't care about temples. If he has it, it's just for strategic value."_

_"Either way," he began, "it would really humiliate him if you destroyed it," he persuaded her. She started to walk off. "Go, Xena! Lead your army to victory and make me proud."_

"Xena?" Gabrielle pat her cheeks and then suddenly Xena shook her head, coming out of her daze. "Oh thank gods," she smiled and cupped her friend's cheeks. "What happened? Did you see something?"

Xena frowned and turned to look at the Roman army. "Ares helped me once," she said and stood slowly. "Caesar must be destroyed."

Gabrielle gasped. "Xena, no! We have to stick to the plan!"

"Caesar doesn't want allies, Gabrielle. He's going to kill all of these Centaurs! These innocent people...we can't let him do it." she pleaded with her eyes and the bard grumbled.

This definitely sounded very familiar. It seems that whatever visions that Ares was planting in Xena's mind were not helping at all. He was showing her all the horrible things she had done in her past. "Look, I don't know what Ares is doing in that mind of yours but you can't trust him."

"He said you would say that," the teen muttered.

"What?" the bard said. She pinched her eyebrows together. "Never mind. Don't listen to him, Xena. He's trying to destroy you. He keeps showing you the dark side of you."

Xena shook her head. "You're wrong, Gabrielle. I saw myself, but I was different. I was with you...you were there. This was different. I trusted Ares.  _Trusted_..." she frowned and rubbed her chin.

Gabrielle scoffed. "You aren't actually going to start trusting him are you?" now she was starting to feel like Xena was turning into her dark self again. She was listening to Ares almost to the point of trusting him. She couldn't allow that to happen and Caesar being here was no big help either. Both of them really knew how to get to her, but this was different. This young Xena didn't have the same connection with her so therefore Xena was going to do whatever it took to get her way, at least that's what Gabrielle thinks.

"No," the teen turned to the bard and cast a warm smile. "I trust you." She placed her hand on Gabrielle's arm. "We are close. We are friends. Ares is not my friend and I know that, but he's showing me these visions for a reason."

Gabrielle groaned. "He's just torturing you, Xena."

"No, he's not," she spat. "He wants to me to destroy Caesar. We get the stone and get out of here but first, we take down the Romans. We can't let them destroy the Centaurs." She took off running from out of the forest and Gabrielle gasped.

" _Xena_!" she yelled and ran after her as fast as she could.

* * *

Hercules and Iolaus crept behind a large hut observing the heated conversation with one of the Centaurs and Julius Caesar. "Where did you hide the stone?" Iolaus whispered.

"In a cave not far from here," he answered. "It's going to be difficult to get past the Romans." He said and his blonde friend agreed. "We need to sneak by them somehow and get to the cave unnoticed."

"Right. But how are we going to do that?" Iolaus asked. "We could go through the west side of camp and alert the Centaurs of our presence just to make sure that they won't attack us or anything. Or maybe we could go through the north side and run right through the Roman army," he chuckled.

Hercules' ears perked up when he heard a whooshing sound in the air. He covered Iolaus' mouth. "Do you hear that?" he whispered.

Iolaus listened carefully and then he saw Xena's chakram flying through the air, knocking Caesar's helm off his head. "Oh that's just fantastic!" he griped. He slapped Hercules' shoulder. "He knows she's here!" he pointed to Caesar.

The Roman commander frowned and recognized that sound anywhere. He saw the chakram fly over his head again and disappear into the woods. He smiled deviously. "Xena..." he snarled. "Of course. You have allied with Xena," he turned to the group of Centaurs. "How foolish of you. Come out, Xena!" he yelled.

Gabrielle emerged from the woods holding the chakram in her hand. She nervously stepped forward and put on a false smile for the Roman. Caesar frowned and saw no sign of Xena. "Gabrielle," he said flatly. "Where's Xena?"

"She has business elsewhere, Caesar. Weren't you with the Amazons a few days ago?" she mused and looked out of the corner of her eye and saw Xena running right behind the army. She remained focused and couldn't believe she was actually going through with this ridiculous plan. For once, she didn't trust Xena.

"Traveling without your trusted friend, Gabrielle?" Caesar chuckled. "That was quite a throw. Now I know you aren't lying because if it was truly Xena that threw the chakram I know she wouldn't  _miss_." She ruffled his hair and his officer handed him his helm. "Well, that's too bad. It has been a long time since I've seen the warrior."

"What is your business with the Centaurs?" she asked, trying to stall. She spotted Hercules and Iolaus sneaking off, hidden from Caesar's eyes. She had no idea where Xena was, but she had a horrible feeling about this entire plan. That was the last time Xena helps, she thought.

Caesar smirked and peered down at his gauntlets. He tightened the laces. "Well, that's official business. Your Amazons should have taken me up on my offer, Gabrielle. But alas, they are cowards and ran from my army and hid. I assure you that I will be civil with the Centaurs so long as they agree to my terms and conditions."

She was almost tempted to roll her eyes. "And those are?"

"How 'bout you tell me where Xena is and maybe I'll tell you," he teased.

"Very funny," she shot him a mocking smile.  _Hurry up, Xena_.

* * *

Hercules arrived at one of the caves near the east side of the Centaur territory with Iolaus. Xena ran over to them with a big smile on her face. He lifted his head and frowned at her while she waved enthusiastically.

"Hey! Wait for me! I came to help!" she breathed heavily and placed her hands on her hips. "Gabrielle is distracting Caesar for us." She said and both men stared at her blankly. "So, what now?"

Hercules shook his head and walked into the cave. "We get the stone and leave. Hopefully Caesar doesn't arrest Gabrielle while we're out here."

Xena's heart sank and she ran behind the two. "Arrest her? But she's done nothing wrong."

"Wow you really don't know how this works do ya?" Iolaus snickered and Xena slapped the back of his head. "Ow!" he grumbled and rubbed his scalp.

They walked into the dark cave lit by torches hanging on the wall and Hercules sighed. "You should have stayed behind like I told you," he whispered.

She rolled her eyes. "I want to help. Everyone is helping me and I feel responsible. Why won't you guys just let me help?"

"Because you keep getting into trouble," the demigod said. "Sorry," he took in a deep breath. "Just down this way and we should be close to the stone." He waved his hand for them to follow.

The three rounded a corner and came to a small room built within the caves. There, they spotted the second piece of the Kronos Stone held on a small altar. Xena smiled and ran forward to retrieve the stone. Just as she was about to grab the stone, it was snatched from the altar by an invisible force.

"Looking for this?" Discord made herself visible to everyone in the hidden cave. She giggled in delight as she held the emerald stone in her palm. "Oh look at you. Little warrior princess."

"Give it to me!" demanded Xena and the goddess cackled loudly, her voice echoing inside the cave.

"Don't be stupid. I could snap you in half like the twig you are," she mused.

Hebe appeared in the cave and socked Discord in the jaw, sending her flying into the cave's wall. "I was supposed to retrieve the stone!" the youthful goddess whined.

Discord groaned and rose to her feet, still gripping onto the stone. "Well, I got here first! Ares said I would be cut in on the little deal you two made together if I got the stone first. And look...I have it," she kissed the stone and Hebe growled.

"It's mine! I found the other piece so it is only right if you give it to me, sister," Hebe held out her palm.

"Oh yeah?" the goddess of chaos smirked. "Come and get it." She waved the stone in her elder sister's face.

Xena groaned and tackled Hebe to the ground. Discord gasped and then her laughter filled the enormous cave. "This is too funny," she mused.

Hercules frowned and marched over to Discord and tapped her shoulder. She turned around and he clocked her in the jaw. She moaned and fell on her back. He grabbed the stone and stomped his boot on her chest. "Thank you," he said with a smug grin.

Hebe and Xena rolled on the ground. The goddess grabbed Xena by her neck, trying to pull her away. "Get off me you little harlot!" she spat and kicked Xena across the room and rose into the air, floating a few feet off the ground.

Xena lifted herself up and groaned, rubbing her aching head. She gasped when she saw Hebe floating over her and her eyes glowing bright white, enough to blind someone. She scooted away from the goddess and bumped into the wall.

"I care not about you. You're just a mortal and my brother's little toy. Let's see how much he cares about you when I turn you into a worm," Hebe smiled and raised her hand up. Xena panicked and quickly ran across the room before Hebe could blast her into pieces. "Brat!" she snarled and whipped her head around. She touched the ground once again and marched right for Xena.

Iolaus grabbed Xena's hand. "We need to get out of here!"

"What about Hercules? The stone?" she yelled and Iolaus pulled her arm, running down the hallway. Hebe followed them and she looked back to see the angry little goddess catching up to them.

"Don't worry about him. He'll handle Discord. She's nothing compared to Ares," he said. "Come on!" he rounded the corner and Hebe growled and let out a loud screech. The cave shook and debris from above began falling down on top of them. Xena's eyes widened at the wrath of this lithe little goddess.

"She's so angry for a puny goddess," Xena mused.

Hebe stepped over a large pile of rocks and dirt. She smiled when she saw Xena and the blonde escaping from the cave. "I will blow you into smithereens!" she threatened and Xena looked back at her.

Xena snatched her hand away from Iolaus. "Well come and get me then!" she challenged the goddess.

"Are you insane?!" he panicked and saw Hebe flying right towards them. "Oh great." He grabbed Xena's arm and they quickly exited the cave. "You know, you aren't very good friends with the gods."

"I'm beginning to realize that."

As they ran across the field trying to escape Hebe's wrath, or rather her temper tantrum, Hercules ran up to them. Iolaus smiled, relieved to his friend in one piece, although they still had one angry goddess chasing them.

"I got it," Hercules waved the stone in Iolaus' face then tucked it into his pocket.

"Great!" the blonde said and turned his head over his shoulder to see Hebe trailing behind them. "What are we going to do about her?"

Hercules smiled and stopped running. "Hey Hebe!" he placed his hands on his hips and she abruptly halted. Her upper lip quivered and her blinding white eyes glared at him. "Discord is waiting for you. She's pretty angry that you tried to get the stone."

"It's mine!" she yelled and a clash of thunder roared in the skies above. Xena cringed and hid behind Iolaus, now a bit afraid of the tiny goddess.

"You're right and you should go after her. She has the stone." He said.

Hebe's eyes returned to their normal state and she frowned sadly, a bit disappointed. She then smiled at the demigod. "You're trying to trick me. Very clever, Hercules. Give me the stone. I know you have it."

"I told you, I don't have it." he played it cool and her eyes glowed bright white again as her temper rose. "I think you need a timeout, Hebe."

"I  _said_ ," she balled her fists up, "give. It. To. Me!" her voice carried and birds frightfully flew out of the trees.

Hercules reached into his pocket and threw the stone to Iolaus. "Run!" he said and Hebe smiled when she saw the light glimmer off the most wanted stone in the world. "Oh no, we have things to discuss, Hebe," he teased and she snarled and let out an ear piercing scream. He covered his ears and winced from the ringing inside his head.

* * *

Gabrielle spotted Xena and Iolaus booking it through the camp and Caesar spotted the two running. He immediately saw Xena's chakram on a thin young girl's belt. Gabrielle was expecting Hercules to follow them but she saw no sign of him.

"That is Xena's chakram yet that girl is not Xena," Caesar said. "What is going on here?" he snarled at Gabrielle.

"I haven't the slightest clue..." she smiled then took off running to follow Xena and Iolaus.

"After them!" he yelled and his men on horseback rode after the trio.

Iolaus held onto Xena's hand as they maneuvered their way through the forest. He kept the stone in his pocket and hoped that no more gods or goddesses would make any sudden appearances. He also hoped that Hercules was alright. He had no idea Hebe had such a bad temper. Well, she is the goddess of youth after all.

"Where are we going? We have to go back for Gabrielle!" Xena cried.

"The Halls of War is close! We can make it there and look for the stone! Hercules told me where it is!" he said and then saw an arrow pierce through a tree. "Oh no." looking back he saw Gabrielle sprinting through the forest and he also saw Caesar's army following them. "Come on!"

Xena turned and smiled. "Gabrielle!" she ran to her and Iolaus groaned. "I was worried about you."

Gabrielle pushed Xena forward. "Run now, talk later!" she sprinted and hurdled over a few branches, passing Iolaus. "Did you get the stone?" she asked.

He pulled out the stone and she grinned. At least they had that. Now to get to Ares' temple. That was going to be a bit of a challenge considering they were being hunted by Roman soldiers.

Moments later, they arrived at the Halls of War and Iolaus immediately ran to a wall. He pried open the stone brick and smiled. He found the last piece of the stone. Two for them, one for Ares. He grabbed the other piece of the stone and the pieces combined together, forming two thirds of the entire weapon.

Ares snatched the stone from Iolau's grasp. "Great work. I appreciate the help." He chuckled.

"Ares!" Gabrielle snarled and pulled out her Sais. "Give us the stone."

The war god pulled out the last piece and everyone's eyes widened. Xena grabbed onto the bard's shoulders. "You were so close," he said and then fit the piece into the broken stone. The Titan stone glowed a bright green and his eyes were fixated on it. A weapon so small yet so powerful it could destroy a god –the world and everything in it.

"Ares..." Gabrielle walked forward. "Turn Xena back like you promised."

He smiled and glanced over to the teenage warrior princess. "Oh I'll turn her back alright." He stepped off the stairs and sauntered over to the young thin girl that would soon be a woman once more. "You belong to me," he whispered and Xena cringed at his tone. He touched her chin and Gabrielle scoffed in disgust.

He closed his eyes and the Kronos Stone glowed so brightly, nearly blinding Gabrielle and Iolaus. Xena shielded her eyes from the intense brightness and then a portal opened beside them. Ares opened his eyes and grinned.

"This has been fun," he winked and pushed Xena through the portal. He walked through and Gabrielle was barely able to keep her eyes open.

"No!" she ran forward and walked through the portal into the abyss.

Gusts of wind surrounded the Halls of War and Iolaus grabbed onto the stone staircase so he wouldn't be sucked into the portal.

Silence.

He opened his eyes and saw Gabrielle's Sais on the ground and everyone was gone. Ares, Xena, and Gabrielle. "Oh no." he stood and looked around to see if he could somehow find them but he knew they were gone. It was too late.

Hercules ran up to a very distraught friend and frowned. "Where are Gabrielle and Xena? Did you get the stone?"

Iolaus frowned sadly and shook his head. "Ares put the stone back together. He took them somewhere."

" _What_? Where?"

"I don't know!" he groaned and pulled on his curly hair. "They were just here and Ares opened this portal and I couldn't get to them in time. They're gone, Hercules."

Hercules creased his eyebrows and looked at the overcast sky above. "They're not gone. They're in a different dimension."

"What are we going to do now? We failed!"

"We talk to Hebe," the demigod stormed off and Iolaus buried his face in his hands, fearing the worst.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Xena fell from the portal into a pile of a hay inside of a barn. She spat some hay out of her mouth and groaned, struggling to get up. She crawled on the ground and her eyes wandered around, seeing numerous amounts of horses and a couple of men in black armor walking outside. Frowning, she stood and brushed dirt off her now filthy flouncy blouse and marched towards the door.

She peeped through the a small hole of the cracked door and saw the armored men storming through the village of people. She saw some men were beating men to the ground with large javelins and hilts of their long swords. Her eyes widened when she saw a horde of horsemen stampeding into the village, yelling at the villagers. She couldn't quite make out what they were saying in the midst of chaos, screaming and the hustling of innocent people.

"What is this?" she whispered. "Where am I?" she asked herself the same question when she saw Gabrielle for the first time. She knew that Ares sent her to a place far from Corinth but she had no idea where they went and even if she was in the same time period.

Just then, she remembered Gabrielle passing through the portal as well, right after Ares pushed her in. She hoped that Gabrielle was in this place –whatever place this was –and that she could find her some way, somehow. She didn't exactly know where to look. She felt even more lost now than she did before. But also, Ares passed through the portal too, which meant he was in this place. She wondered if the three were scattered apart and he wanted her to find him. He probably didn't know Gabrielle came along, but how couldn't he know? He is a god after all. Although, she realized that gods weren't exactly the smartest beings on this planet, considering the disastrous fight between Discord, Hercules and Hebe.

These gods were nothing to be proud of. They only cared about themselves and Ares certainly wanted his way. He tricked her but maybe if she were more self aware of Ares and his schemes, then she would have seen that. Xena felt like this was entirely her fault and now she was trapped here and so was Gabrielle.

Inhaling deeply, she calmly collected herself and pushed the door open and stepped out of the barn. Walking outside, she saw the army of men scouting the village. A young teenage boy ran by her and she grabbed his arm.

"Wait!" she said and he looked at her with panicked eyes. She saw so much fear. No child should have such fear in their eyes. "What's going on?"

He stuttered, "you...w-hat do you mean what's going on, miss?!" he turned his head and saw the armored men coming straight for him and tried to get away from her. "Let go of me!"

"I just want to ask you something!" she groaned and he fell onto the ground, scooting away from her. "Why are you so afraid?"

The boy yelped and crawled on the ground before getting up and running off, nearly tripping over his own feet. Xena frowned and turned around to see she was surrounded by five men wearing silver and black armor.

"All women and children are not supposed to be here," one of the soldiers said and Xena raised her eyebrow.

"And why is that?" she folded her arms.

The men chuckled at her obstinacy. "We were ordered to get all the women and children out of the village." He grabbed her by the arm and began dragging her away.

"Take your hand off of me, you pig!" she snarled and stomped on his boot. He moaned in agony and released her. She exhaled heavily and rubbed her arm. "Who ordered you?! Why are you attacking these people?"

"You stupid girl!" the man ran and tried to grab her again and Xena gasped then took off sprinting through the village. "Grab her!" he ordered and hobbled along, unsheathing his sword.

Xena ran through the village, bumping into people as she made her way through the crowds. She rounded a large group of tents and hid behind a barrel from the men. She ducked down and peeked over the barrel and saw the men run right passed her. she grinned and then leaned against the large tent.

As she sat, hiding from the army of men, she saw more horsemen passing her and crouched behind the barrels. She heard someone talking inside of the tent and frowned. A voice so familiar yet so foreign to her at the same time.

Once the guards trotted by she stood and checked all areas before she walked to the front of the tents. There were no women and children here, at least any that she could see. Most were men and young teenage boys. Whatever place this was, was horrible and whoever ordered this raid was not a good person in her mind.

She heard the voice within the tent rise to a most powerful growl. She crept closer and peeked through the flap of the tent, taking a look inside.

Her eyes widened when she saw who the person was and immediately she felt sick. A man on the floor was begging for his life to be spared. He even offered gold and so desperately, was willing to give his home and animals, but his pleas weren't working.

"Take him outside and tie him to a cross," the warlord said.

The teen frowned and stormed into the tent just as the soldiers grabbed the middle-aged man by the arms. "Stop!" she yelled and the warlord lifted her eyes. "Let him go."

The warlord raised her eyebrow and rose from her chair, clad in black armor. She gaped at the lithe teenager inside her tent with curiosity. Walking forward, she unsheathed her sword and smiled down at the skinny girl.

"You wish to become a martyr, girl?" she asked with a smug grin.

The teenager huffed and looked into the warrior's piercing blue eyes. "No, but you should let him go. He hasn't done anything to you. He was begging for his life, can't you see? He's afraid of you!"

"That's the idea," mused the tall warlord. She bent down, looking into the girl's eyes. "Who are you to question  _me_?"

The young Xena's eyes grew in fear. "I...I know who you are."

The warlord laughed loudly. " _Everyone_  knows who I am!" she pressed the blade against the girl's neck. She nudged her head at her men. "Take him away."

"No!" the teen cried and the warlord grabbed her by the arm and flung her across the tent. She landed on a pile of pillows and animal furs. She was getting annoyed from landing in unexpected places today. "Listen to me!" she hopped to her feet and marched towards the warlord.

"I know who you are because I'm  _you_!" the young Xena yelled and the warlord's eyebrows rose into her thick bangs.

Now she understood where she was. She was transported into her own past and stood before her adult self, her warlord self. Ares' plan worked, but there was something that went wrong. She guessed that she was supposed to be turned back into her old self but he sent her to the past instead of fixing her first. Time travel, she now hated it and she was hating herself the more she looked into the devious blue eyes of her adult body.

The elder Xena frowned and leaned forward, staring into the teenager's frightened eyes. "Are you a spy sent by the King of Corinth to assassinate me?" she asked skeptically.

 _Corinth. I'm still in Corinth, but in the past_. She smiled and the warlord Xena growled. "Why are you smiling? Something funny to you?!"

"No, no!" the teenage Xena raised her hands and felt the blade poking her stomach. "Please, you have to believe me! I am you –a younger you! I come from the  _future_...and I...I..." this wasn't making any sense as she was trying to explain herself and realized she was doing a poor job.

Warlord Xena inched forward, persisting to drive the blade deeper into the girl's blouse. "You sound like you belong in the crazy house, girl. Who are you,  _really_?"

"I just told you!" the young Xena frowned, now growing irritated. She swatted the blade away and it flew across the tent. "Now, you're going to listen to  _me_! Ares is playing a game with you –with  _us_...you can't trust him. He is bad for you!"

The elder Xena grabbed her younger self by the throat, lifting her off the ground, choking her gradually. A devious smile appeared on her face and her eyes grew wild seeing the young teen suffer by her hand. "You must have a death wish."

The teenage Xena choked and tried to pry her own adult hands off her throat. "Please...you have to believe...me," she croaked. She needed to say something to make herself sound more believable and so far nothing was working, not even her appearance. "Your...son, Solan...you gave him to the Centaurs." She said and her elder self loosened the grip on her neck.  _Good, I got your attention now_.

"You...wanted him to have a better life," she continued and the warlord released her and she dropped to the ground, heaving heavily. "Hercules, he is your friend..."

Warlord Xena growled and snatched her dagger from her belt. "How do you know all of this? Who are you?!"

The teen huffed, "what is it going to take for you to believe me?!" she growled. "Don't you recognize me?"

"Xena!" one of her men entered the tent and she whipped her head around. "We have secured the area. Do you want us to torch the village now?"

"Not until I'm finished with –" she turned around and saw the thin teenager was gone. Snarling, she pushed her soldier out of the way and exited the tent. Her eyes searched the area and she folded her arms, disappointed the girl had vanished right before her eyes as if she weren't even real.

* * *

Gabrielle's eyes fluttered open and she stared up at a blue sky. Rising slowly, she felt her entire body had been bashed against a wall a million times. Scanning her surroundings, she was alone in a field of flowers. She frowned and got to her feet. She didn't think she would end up in a place that looked like the Elysian Fields when she entered that portal Xena and Ares went through.

Her hands roamed her body, making sure everything was intact. She felt the empty slots lining her boots and groaned. Her Sais were left behind. Of course, nothing is going right these days, she thought. She heard a loud explosion and screams from afar.

Whipping her head around she saw a village on fire and black smoke filling the sky. "What is going on?" she muttered. She then remembered Xena. She had no idea if they were transported to the same place or not. In fact, she had no idea where she was or if she was still in the same time period. She hoped so otherwise this was going to be very difficult. And then another thing crossed her mind, where in Tartarus is Ares?

She ran through the fields, towards the blazing village fire, hoping she could find some answers there and hopefully find Xena and fix her, if Ares hadn't done something else to her by now. The closer she got to the village, the more afraid she became. She didn't understand what was going on but she was positive Ares was behind it all. He had to be behind it.

Gabrielle ran into the village and saw a horde of soldiers ransacking homes, throwing out chairs, tables, food and other home goods. She gasped and then saw dead young men lying in the mud. Burning homes and corpses hanging on large crosses spread around the village streets.

_"Burn it all!"_

She turned at the sound of that voice. She hoped it was not who she thought it was. Running through the chaotic streets of the flaming village she saw Xena sitting on her horse, wearing black armor and a long cape. Her wild hair swaying gently in the ember filled breeze. "Xena..." she whispered. She felt her stomach churn at the sight of her.

"Xena!" she yelled and the warlord turned her head, hearing her name called from afar. She ran to her. "What are you doing?!"

Xena snarled at her commanding officer, Telis, "I thought I told you to get the women and children out of here!"

"I did, Xena!" he spat and she rode over to Gabrielle.

Out of fear and instinct, Gabrielle picked up a sword which lay next to a dead villager, which she guessed he used trying to defend himself against Xena's thugs. She pointed the blade at the warlord and a smug grin crossed Xena's face.

"Oh, you  _want_  a fight," she mused. "If you insist..." she pulled the sword out of its holster that was strapped to her back and pointed it directly at Gabrielle's neck. The bard breathed heavily, her heart pounding from the adrenaline that built up inside her. She didn't back away when Xena's blade inched closer and closer. "You aren't afraid to die?"

"You won't kill me. You know me," Gabrielle said, though this wasn't the Xena she knew. For the first time, she feared Xena. She saw her true dark side. She often saw Xena's darkness rise to the surface during dire situations but it wasn't like this. The look in those blue eyes of hers. So empty, void of emotion, almost heartless and the utmost cruelty that swallowed up her soul.

Xena laughed heartily. "I've never seen you before in my life! I've killed many people in my life, you are just another body to me."

 _Gods Ares, what have you done to her_? "Ares is behind this, Xena! He is destroying your soul! Your destiny!"

"My  _destiny_?!" Xena growled. Those words reminded her of when Caesar tied her to a cross and left her for dead. They were supposed to conquer the world together. They were destined to do great things, but he didn't think so. He had his own destiny and she made her own.

She chuckled lowly. "You know what  _your_  destiny is?" said the warlord and Gabrielle's grip on the sword tightened as she gawked into those soulless blue eyes above her. "To die by my sword." She plunged the sword into Gabrielle's shoulder. Her smile widened as she drove the blade further into her flesh.

Gabrielle gasped and dropped the sword and then fell to her knees, gripping onto Xena's sword. She stared up in her eyes, pleading for mercy, for help. Blood poured from her wound and her mouth gaped, her strength weakening by the second.

Xena's sword slid out of the blonde's shoulder and she wiped the bloody sword on her black pants. "Destiny fulfilled," she scoffed and trotted off, sheathing her sword. "Gather the army! We leave Corinth and ride to Athens next!" she yelled at Telis and rode off through the burning village.

Gabrielle collapsed onto the ground, gasping for air. She placed her hand over her wound, attempting to stop the blood gushing down her torso. She saw Xena but that wasn't Xena and now, she was left here to die. She had no way to help her. She had no idea where Ares was and she definitely wasn't going to ask for his help either.

The teenage Xena ran back through the village and saw Gabrielle on the ground. Her eyes widened in fear and she quickly sprinted over to her and fell into the mud. "Gabrielle!" she crawled over and leaned over the bard's face. "Gabrielle...what..." she saw the blood rushing from her shoulder. Frowning, she ripped the sleeve off her blouse and wrapped it around Gabrielle's wound.

The bard blinked and saw Xena's innocent youthful face above her. She smiled weakly at the sight of her. It wasn't the Xena she was used to, but it was better than the other Xena, the dark version of Xena that she met earlier.

"What happened to you? Who did this?" Xena asked and she kept trying to clot the wound, ripping the other sleeve off her shirt. She lifted her eyes for a brief moment and heard nothing. Silence filled the village. No more screams, cries of agony –just the wood burning and cackling of the embers. No horses, no army, no...Xena.

"I did this to you," she said with a strange realization. Now she understood why Gabrielle kept so many things from her. She was a monster, she saw it for herself, but how could she do this to a friend. Her adult self was not aware of the great things to come in her life later on.

Gabrielle frowned and spoke softly, "that wasn't you." She grunted as she tried to sit up. Xena supported her from behind, holding her head against her chest. "What...are you doing here?"

"I don't know, but I think Ares' plan didn't work otherwise why am I still here?" Xena sighed and ran her fingers through the bard's short golden locks. "I'm so sorry, Gabrielle."

"It's not your fault."

"Yes it is!" the teen spat and Gabrielle's eyes grew in shock. "I did this to you. I'm going to fix this. I promise." She grabbed Gabrielle from under her arms and began dragging her through the mud. "We...gotta...get you out of here," she struggled pulling the blonde.

Gabrielle winced, trying to ignore the pain. She looked over her shoulder at the young Xena struggling to drag her. "Xena, don't..."

"No! I'm going to help you! You helped me and now I'm helping you!" she grunted and grabbed a horse. Gabrielle turned over onto her back and stared at the blackened sky. This was Xena's doing. All these people dying, the fires, the raids. All her and nobody was stopping her either. She was going to keep doing it. She had no reason to stop ransacking villages but why Xena, why?

Xena grabbed a few burning boards from a house and smacked the fire with a blanket. She coughed from the smoke surrounding her. She grabbed the scorching boards and hissed, but persisted on and drug them towards Gabrielle. She threw the boards down and knelt down, and took off the belt around her waist.

She wrapped the belt around Gabrielle's arm to clot the bleeding then looked around for anything she could salvage out of this place. "Rope. I need rope..." she muttered.

The bard frowned and saw Xena running over to a nearby house that was nearly burnt to the ground by now. "Xena! What are you doing...?"

The teen ran out and was able to find half of a rope that wasn't burned too badly. She smiled and knelt down, wrapping the rope around the boards. "I'm making a litter," she said and tied the rope into a knot.

"And where exactly are we going?" Gabrielle griped, not liking the sound of Xena steering a horse with her on a litter being dragged behind.

"We're going to get you some help and then we go to Athens," she said and tied the rope around the horse's reins.

"What...what's in Athens?" Gabrielle bit her tongue at the slightest movement of her wounded shoulder.

"My...older self is there..." she muttered and grabbed Gabrielle by the arms.

"Whoa! What?!" the bard swatted the teen's hands away.

"Come on Gabrielle, I'm trying to help you!"

Gabrielle grabbed Xena's hand firmly and looked into her sweet warm eyes. "You are going to find your older self and then what? Attack her?!" she snarled.

Xena's eyes darkened and she frowned deeply. "I have to stop myself, Gabrielle. I am a monster! Look what I did to you!"

"That wasn't you!"

"But it was!" Xena sighed. "I need to do this. I'm going to find her and fix this. It's my turn to fix you." She cast a crooked smile down at the bard. "You are my friend and I care about you. I'm not leaving you here to die." She said and Gabrielle exhaled deeply. "Now, will you cooperate with me and get on this litter so we can leave?"

Gabrielle groaned but relented. Xena smiled cheekily and pulled the bard's body onto the makeshift litter. She then climbed onto the horse and turned over her shoulder to see Gabrielle situated on the litter. "You're heavy for a short person."

"Oh.. _thanks_..." Gabrielle grumbled. She yelped and held onto the sides of the litter when the horse jolted forward.


	9. Chapter 9

**another twist and good luck ;) let me know what you all think so far!**

Chapter 9

Xena rode into another small village outside of Corinth. Luckily the village was close and it was also intact which meant her older self did not destroy this place, but why not? If she was as evil as she claimed to be why leave this alone? Or perhaps there was a certain tie she had with Corinth? Xena had no idea what was going to happen when she came face to face with her warlord self and she had no set plan yet. First thing first, she will help Gabrielle and then come up with a plan from there.

She hopped off her horse and noticed a lot of people gawking at her. She realized that these civilians were able to recognize her face but yet her adult version of herself could not seem to pinpoint who she really was, which was odd, or maybe she saw someone different? Or maybe she was in so much self denial that she completely lost her innocence.

She walked up to a man sitting outside of his tavern it looked like, cleaning cups and bowls in a large bucket of water. "Excuse me sir..." she spoke softly and he lifted his head for a brief moment and his eyes enlarged at the sight of her. Deciding to ignore his apparent gaping eyes, she remained calm.

"I need some medicine. My friend is hurt. Do you know where I can find a healer around here?"

He dropped the bowl into the bucket of water and stood slowly, taking a good look at her familiar face. "You look like the warlord Xena," he observed. He then took another look at her body and frowned confusedly. "Yet you are just a child. Are you related to the bitch?" he pulled out a dagger from his belt and she gasped, stepping away cautiously.

"I...have no idea who you are talking about. I don't know who Xena is," she said, trying her best to protect herself. Peering back, she saw Gabrielle struggling to get off the litter. "Please, I just need some medicine for my friend. I am not here to cause trouble."

The man saw the fear in the girl's eyes and therefore lowered the weapon. It was obvious this young traveler was no threat and neither was her blonde friend either. "Go past the inn over there," he pointed north of his home, "you will find a healer by the name of Izak. He can help your friend."

She smiled, "thank you." She quickly grabbed the horse by its reins and pulled Gabrielle along in the litter.

Following the man's instructions she found a small hut and a young man inside, scurrying about. She turned to Gabrielle. "I'll be right back."

Gabrielle sighed. "Yeah sure, I'll just be here...don't mind me." She grumbled and winced at her aching shoulder.

Xena smirked and stepped inside the small hut. The young man was running around holding a beaker in one hand and a vial in the other. He looked like a mess and like he hadn't slept in days. This must be the crazy person in the village she gathered. She went ahead and knocked on the wall and alarmed the young man. He nearly dropped his vial and beaker of liquids.

"Are you Izak?" she asked.

"Who wants to know?" he eyed her suspiciously.

"I was told to come here. My friend needs medicine for a shoulder wound. A man down the road said that you could...help?" her eyes wandered around the small hut and it looked incredibly disorganized, just like this young man.

He sighed and set down the glass vial and beaker then wiped his dirty hands on his pants. "Alright, let's go take a look then." He marched outside and saw Gabrielle on the litter. He knelt down and took a good look at her wound. "This is a pretty gnarly wound, miss. Who did this to you?"

Xena held her breath and Gabrielle shot her a weak smile. "I was...attacked by some men while traveling on the road."

Izak nodded and touched the fresh blood. "Those men must have had a pretty hefty sword. This a deep wound. I can help you." He lifted her up with ease and wrapped her arm around his neck, leading her inside his hut. He glanced over at Xena and lifted an eyebrow. She shied away and avoided gaze.

Inside the hut he lay Gabrielle onto a table after he cleared it with a swipe of his hand. "You're lucky that the warlord Xena didn't come to this village otherwise you'd be out of luck." He began mixing herbs into a bowl and crushing it with his fingers and his own spit. Xena cringed and turned to Gabrielle, worried for her safety and hers as well.

"Say, you kind of look like her." He said and Xena's face paled.

"Yeah well, I've never seen her before so I don't know what she looks like," she said and Gabrielle's eyes widened and turned to Izak. She immediately noticed the suspicion on his face.

"I saw her once when I was traveling through Delphi picking up some supplies to bring back home. She is a looker that's for sure. Such a shame that beauty be wasted, right?" he chuckled and Xena put on a false smile. He grabbed the poultice he made and walked over to Gabrielle. "Alright, let's see what I can do for you."

Xena panicked and leered over the healer, watching his every move. "I...I don't have any money to pay you."

He shrugged, "have you got anything else?"

"Well, no..." she said meekly.

He spotted the chakram on her belt loop. "What about that thing?" he asked.

She gasped and gripped the chakram. "No! I can't give this to you. I –I need it."

"How 'bout that horse? I could use one for my next supply run." He offered and slathered Gabrielle's wound with the herbs and she bit her tongue, fighting back the pain.

Xena frowned, "I need that horse!"

Gabrielle put up her free arm. "Let him have the horse. We can find another one," she suggested and Xena grumbled and crossed her arms.

* * *

Hercules and Iolaus left the Halls of War and steered clear of Caesar and his army. They were hiding in the brush in the forest they were just in. Luckily, Caesar and his army had gone into a different direction searching for Gabrielle and Xena, though he was leading nowhere, little did he know.

"Hebe!" Hercules shouted in the middle of the forest. "I need to talk to you!"

The goddess appeared leaning on a tree. "What do you want, Hercules? Haven't you embarrassed me enough for today? Thanks to you, Ares has the Kronos Stone and I didn't even get my hands on it for a second!" she growled.

He sighed. "Listen, Ares took Xena and Gabrielle through a time portal. I need you to find him. I know you gods can pass through time easily."

She cackled. "It isn't that easy! If Ares has the Kronos Stone he has the ultimate power to walk through any time period he wants. No doubt he has his mortal warrior with him." She sighed dramatically.

"You need to get the stone from him, Hebe. I know how much you want it," he cast a smug grin. He hoped that she was stupid enough to go along with the good ole enticing trick. It worked on lesser gods more than it would for Ares. He was too smart for that.

She frowned and walked forward, twirling a strand of hair around her finger. "And then what? I help your friend turn back into her normal self?"

"That's the idea, but then you can keep the stone for yourself. Don't let Ares touch it. We both know that he will use it for his own selfish needs. Can I trust you to get the stone from him and keep it in a safe place?" he asked, hoping she would relent.

She hummed quietly and smiled. "And you won't try and take it from me will you, little brother?"

"Not as long as you keep your promise to keep it from Ares. The stone is all yours."

Iolaus gasped. "Herc, you can't do that!"

"Sure I can," he whispered. "So, what do you say Hebe? Will you help us get the stone back from Ares or what? You're not going to allow him to have access to all that power will you?"

Hebe huffed and folded her arms. "I suppose I could do this for you but I will want a favor in return in the near future," she said and Hercules nodded, agreeing to her terms. "I will go alone to retrieve the stone. You will stay here with your short friend. I'll get it don't you worry your pretty little head."

"And what if Discord gets in the way?" Iolaus asked and Hebe's eyes burned and turned bright white. Her anger was showing. "Oh...well, I mean...she might want to take it from you..."

She snarled. "Discord!" she screamed to the sky and both of them covered their ears. In a matter of seconds she calmed herself and her eyes returned to their normal state. She gave them a warm endearing smile. "I will make sure she does not get in my way. Tootles, boys." She disappeared from the area and Iolaus breathed a sigh of relief.

"Your family really is something else," he commented.

Hercules sighed. "Don't I know it. Let's just hope she gets the stone from Ares and maybe we can fix this mess. I hope Xena and Gabrielle are not in harm's way."

* * *

"You should have seen her – _my_...face, Gabrielle. She didn't recognize me. I mean, I didn't recognize myself," the teenager groaned. "This is too confusing."

Together they traveled on foot to hopefully run into the warlord's army. She couldn't have gone too far and would have to stop for camp eventually. Athens was a bit far from Corinth and surely the army would have to resupply soon. Gabrielle and Xena always stopped for camp during long journeys, so hopefully, Xena would have stopped by now and camped somewhere in a barren area.

"Listen, this version of you is so delusional. She can't see what is right from wrong. She will kill anything in her way. I have often wondered what the dark side of... _you_  would be like and now that I've seen it, I hope I never see it again."

Xena nodded. "Me too. I need to stop myself. Maybe if I can change my ways now then –"

"No!" Gabrielle grabbed the teen's arm. "We aren't screwing with time more than we already have. If you do anything to yourself in this time period who knows what will happen ten years from now."

Xena scoffed. "So that's it? We just stand by and let my older self destroy countless cities and kill people?! Gabrielle, I can't believe you. I know I haven't really known for you that long but I know that you know that this is wrong. We can't let her... _me_ , do this. It's wrong and you know it!"

The bard sighed and kept walking ahead of Xena. "I know but we don't have time to mess with this version of you. We could destroy your future, Xena. I don't think you understand that. I like you the way you are. If we alter your past then we alter the future too and I don't think 'warlord Xena' will change just because you want her to. She takes no prisoners. You saw what she did back in Corinth."

"I could try..." Xena muttered.

Gabrielle smiled faintly. "I know you want to fix your past, Xena. I wish you could too then maybe you wouldn't be so..." she trailed off, not wishing to finish that sentence.

The teen frowned. "So  _what_?" she asked and the bard remained quiet. "What is it Gabrielle?"

"You've always told me that you could never forgive yourself for the things you've done in your past. Even after all the years we spent together, you can't and won't forgive yourself and sometimes it eats away at you. It...hurts me to see you like that."

The moment she said that she felt a weight lifted off her shoulders. Truly, she never realized how much Xena's guilt weighed on her as much as it did. Possibly more on her than on Xena at times. She so badly wanted Xena to forgive herself and move on, but now that she was able to lay eyes on Xena's dark persona, she realized that Xena was far too gone at this point in her life. She was not worthy of forgiveness now but in the future –the Xena she knew and loved –was not here. She was lost somewhere in this teenage body of hers.

Xena now was more aware of what kind of pain she inflicted on so many people. She wanted to that change that. "And so you would rather I suffer in my future than fix my mess now? This is my chance, Gabrielle! I can redeem myself!"

Gabrielle frowned. "I like you the way you are, Xena. Well...you know what I mean. We can't go in and correct yourself right now. We need to turn you back to your normal self."

"So you don't want me to redeem myself? You'd rather I remain in a state of guilt?" said the teenage Xena.

It was strange for Gabrielle to hear such words come from her friend's mouth, even if her friend was trapped in a younger body. She seemed more self aware of what was wrong and what was right. Not everything that Xena did was right but at least she learned from her mistakes along the way. Gabrielle didn't know what to do. She suddenly felt selfish for wanting to keep Xena the way she had known her these past few years. She wanted Xena to realize that she could forgive herself for her wrong doings, but she didn't want it to be like this. She longed for Xena to come to this realization all on her own, not through some meddling in a lost dimension.

"I know you mean well and I know that you want to fix your adult self, Xena, but I don't want to risk altering time. We are playing a game that we cannot control. And if we alter time more than we already have then I'm afraid...I might lose you in the future and I can't allow that to happen." She finally said and the teenager nodded.

"I wish I could just...tell myself that life will be different in the future," Xena sighed.

They walked through a large area filled with trees. Xena spotted several tents and smiled, eager to invade the camp. "This must be it, Gabrielle! This is her camp. We should go in and find her tent."

Gabrielle pulled Xena back roughly. "No, we can't just waltz in there. We will be arrested and possibly killed." She looked down at her wounded shoulder. She didn't want to receive another wound, especially one that could potentially kill her.

"I can go in the camp. I can be very stealthy," Xena wriggled her eyebrows and the bard rolled her eyes. "You are hurt. I can do this! Come on..."

The blonde groaned and then nodded. "Alright but be careful and don't let anyone see you." She said and Xena grinned deviously then began walking off. "Hey!" she called out and Xena turned her head. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to tell myself that Ares can't be trusted. Hopefully, she will listen to me. If not...I'll make another escape."

Gabrielle frowned, "what do you mean  _another_  escape?"

Xena sheepishly smiled. "She's already seen me..."

" _What_?!"

"Well...it was kind of an accident," Xena shrugged her shoulders. "Wait here! I won't be long!" she ran off while Gabrielle crept behind a few trees to hide and overlook the large camp.

* * *

Inside the commander's tent, Xena stripped herself of her silver breastplate and tossed it onto a pile of blankets. She sighed and untied the gauntlets around her wrists and felt a presence inside her tent. She swiftly turned around, grabbing her sword.

Ares smirked and held up his hands defensively. Xena lowered her sword and threw it onto the pillows beside her armor. "You really did a number on Corinth. I didn't think you had it in you to do that."

She scoffed, "and why is that? You expected less?" she cast a devious smile and tossed her gauntlets on the floor.

"You...exceeded my expectations," he bit his bottom lip, staring at her body wrapped in her black sleeveless blouse and form-fitting pants. He sauntered towards her and touched her long wild hair. Her hair slid through his fingers and he sniffed her ember scented locks.

Xena raised an eyebrow and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I will attack Athens next."

He grinned, "ambitious. Athens is a large city. As long as I am by your side I will make sure that you achieve... _all_  your goals," his voice sultry and ringing in her ears. She leaned upward and grabbed his cheeks, squeezing his face in between her fingers.

" _All_  of my goals?" she teased and widened her wild eyes. Slowly, the war god nodded his head and she snickered. She let go of his face and lowered herself to the floor, laying on the pile of blankets and pillows. "We can start achieving one of those goals right now," she sprawled her arms across the pillows, inviting him in to her domain.

A wicked smile crossed the god's lips and he pressed his body against hers. He pinned her arms to the pillows and kissed her bare neck gingerly. Lolling her head backward, she smiled from ear to ear as he made his way down to her sternum and unlaced her bodice.

The teenage Xena cut a hole into the commander's tent and she crawled inside to avoid the guards posted outside. She saw Ares on top of her adult self, coddling her, kissing her and groping her. Her entire body was on fire seeing him on her, treating her as if she were his lover. Maybe in another time. She growled and stood up then ran over to Ares.

She jumped on top of him and wrapped her arm around his neck, choking him. "Get off you bastard!" she snarled and bit his ear.

He snarled and stood. She wrapped her legs around his torso, refusing to let go. Warlord Xena's eyes widened and she scooted away as Ares was trying get the teenager off of him. She grabbed her sword and hopped to her feet.

"You again!" the warlord snarled.

Ares grabbed the teen's arm and flung her across the tent. She landed on a stack of weapons and moaned loudly. Lifting her head she saw her older self marching right at her. She was grabbed by the arm and hoisted up.

Ares rubbed his ear and then glanced over at Xena holding..." _You_!" he yelled and pushed the warlord Xena away. "What are you doing here?! I thought I got rid of you!"

The teenager smirked. "Looks like you didn't finish the spell, Ares," she hissed.

"What is going on?" the older Xena asked. "Who is this?"

"Go on, Ares, tell  _her_ ," the teenager smugly smiled and placed her hands on her narrow hips. "Tell her that I'm really from the future. Tell her that I'm actually her and you changed my adult self into a child! Tell her!" she growled and shoved him backward.

The warlord lowered her sword and gawked at the war god. "This girl is  _me_?"

"I've been trying to tell you!" the teen cried. "You wouldn't listen," she took a step forward and evil Xena took a cautious step back. "Please, I know you can recognize me now." She smiled softly and evil Xena's eyes widened with fear. "You can't keep listening to Ares. He is destroying you. You have to believe me. I know who you are, who you really are and I think you do too."

The commander kept backing away and lifted her blade. "Don't come any closer or I'll kill you!"

"You would kill  _yourself_? For what? For  _him_?" the teen eyed the furious war god. "I know this must be very strange for you but I am you and that blonde you stabbed back there is your friend. She loves and cares about you. I just want to help you...please."

"I will slice you into a million pieces!" Xena snarled.

Ares smirked and crossed his arms. "This is more amusing than I thought."

"Shut up, Ares!" the teenager snapped and the god blinked rapidly at her ferocity.

"This is ridiculous. You expect me to believe that you are me," the elder Xena proclaimed.

"It's true! And it's all his fault! He wanted to use me for his own game. He wanted my dark side to rise to the surface." The teen sighed and saw she was getting nowhere. "You were able to turn away from the darkness and fight for good and Ares didn't like that. I am telling you the truth."

The warlord laughed and pointed the blade at her younger self's throat. "You tell a good tale. You should be a storyteller."

"Enough of this chitchat!" Ares grabbed the teenage Xena. "I am getting rid of you."

"No!" the teen snarled and the commander lifted an eyebrow at the struggling girl. "Solan! Your son! He dies! Years from now you will meet him again and he won't know who you are! He will never know who you really are! Where I come from he is dead!"

Evil Xena's eyes widened and she lowered her blade, gaping at the teenager. Ares felt like he was losing his grasp on her at that very moment. She could topple cities and kill people as if they were ants behind her boot, but the mention of her only son was the key that kept her from embracing true darkness.

"Don't listen to her!" he yelled. "She's lying!"

"I am not! Let go of me you pervert!" she elbowed him in the face and he staggered backwards. She ran to her elder self and gripped her arms. The commander stiffened and gazed down into the girl's eyes. "I know you believe me. I can see it in your eyes. You're in denial but you believe me." She smiled faintly and the commander's upper lip quivered in disgust, almost. "You're not all that bad. You can change and sooner than you think. I promise you that it's worth it if you try..."

Hebe's loud child-like laughter filled the tent and both ' _Xenas'_  eyes wandered around, looking for the laughing goddess. She finally made herself visible to the mortal eye and she stared at her brother. "Oh Ares! You are an idiot!" she frowned. "You didn't reverse my spell and now you have two warrior babes! Look at them. One evil and one still a few years shy of womanhood. This is so pathetic."

"You didn't say anything about a spell reversal!" he hissed.

The goddess shrugged a nonchalant shoulder. "You didn't give me a chance. You took the stone for yourself! Give it to me!" she reached into his pocket and pulled out the beaming Kronos Stone. Her eyes grew in excitement. She could feel the power radiating from the small yet so powerful tool.

The commander's guards rushed inside the tent and threw Gabrielle onto the floor. "Commander, we found an intruder." Telis said and then saw a young girl and two people inside of the tent. "What is going on here?" he unsheathed his sword, ready to attack.

"Oh please," Hebe rolled her eyes and with a wave of her hand the two guards flew out of the tent, screaming. "Now, where were we?" she smiled, cuddling the stone close to her chest.

"Hebe, the stone is mine!" Ares growled and reached for the stone and she turned around.

"Not anymore! You are irresponsible with it!"

Evil Xena frowned at the blonde crouched down on the floor. She pushed the teen aside and stormed over to Gabrielle and grabbed her by the hair. "I thought I killed you..." she hissed and Gabrielle grimaced.

The teenager ran and jumped in between Gabrielle and the warlord. "Stop!" she wrapped her arm around Gabrielle. "She is your friend! I swear! If you kill her you will be trapped in this cycle of hatred forever!"

Evil Xena's eyes softened as she stared at her younger self –a person that she had left behind many years ago. The innocence she once had that was long forgotten. Now she was reminded of what and who she used to be. She stared at the blonde beneath her and frowned sadly. She retracted her sword and Ares snarled.

"Don't do this Xena!" he grabbed her arm and she snatched herself away.

"I don't know exactly what is going on Ares but you better fix it," she hissed and pointed the blade at his chest.

Gabrielle smiled."Thank you," she whispered and the teenager nodded.

Eyeing Hebe, cuddling the stone to her chest, little Xena raised her eyebrow. In the midst of the argument she left Gabrielle's side and charged right for the youth goddess. She snatched the stone from her hands and Hebe gasped.

"You brat!"

Xena held onto the stone and it burned her flesh. She felt her body changing and dropped to her knees, shutting her eyes. Ares turned and Gabrielle slowly got to her feet. " _No_!" Ares cried out and saw Xena disappear right before his eyes with the stone in her possession as well.


	10. Chapter 10

**Had a bit of writer's block with this, but I'm back.**

Chapter 10

Xena fell face flat onto the ground. She lifted her head and spat out some grass and smiled seeing that she still possessed the Kronos Stone. Quickly, she got to her feet and ran through the grasslands and saw a village up ahead. She hoped that she was able to transport herself into the correct time period. Using the information that Gabrielle told her she was able to pinpoint a location, she hoped.

Running into the village she saw several children of various ages playing together outside. She saw a small centaur blonde boy playing with a couple of little girls. Smiling softly, she hid behind a hut and watched the children play together outside so freely and innocently. At this age, she had forgotten what it felt like to be so innocent and after she encountered her older warlord self, she guessed that her adult form also forgot what it meant to be a normal person.

Casually, she walked through the village as if she lived there with everyone else. She spotted a redheaded girl crossing paths with a few smaller boys and head into a small hut across the way. She frowned and then heard a man's loud voice from afar. Spinning her head around she saw a centaur and a tall blonde boy running to him.

She ran out to the square and there she saw Gabrielle, though she looked a lot different. She had long hair instead of her short locks that she had grown accustomed to. Peering behind a large wooden column she spotted her older self, wearing the brown leathers. "Oh good, I'm not a warlord anymore," she whispered to herself.

Noticing the distraught look on Gabrielle's face, she frowned sadly and saw her leave the hut. While, the older Xena, centaur and blonde boy entered the hut together. She decided to spy on the three in the hut and crouched down, running across the village square.

She peeked through the window of the hut and saw the older Xena arguing with the centaur and the boy standing, combating the centaur. She heard the centaur say the boy's name and her eyes widened. "Solan..." she whispered.

The older Xena heard her voice from outside and she gasped. Crouching back down, she crawled across the ground and hid behind a barrel of water. She saw her elder self walk outside the hut and survey the area, looking for any intruders. She wasn't going to make that same mistake of allowing her older form to see her again. That was a mess and she obviously couldn't accomplish anything dealing with her evil self, but here, this was different. She was going to fix this.

She held her breath and hoped that wouldn't be caught. She couldn't risk that. She saw her older self walk back into the hut and exhaled deeply. Too close, she thought. Hearing another familiar voice, she popped up from behind the barrel and saw the Amazon queen. "Ephiny," she smiled seeing the blonde Amazon from afar.

Thinking of what Gabrielle said to her before about messing with time remained planted in her mind. She wasn't going to do much here, but she needed to fix this and maybe life would be different when she returned to her normal state eventually.

She ran across to the hut that Gabrielle walked into earlier and peered through the window. She saw Gabrielle talking to the small redheaded girl and frowned, squinting her eyes, trying to hear what they were saying, but their voices were too muffled.

Gabrielle turned her back and rubbed her face out of frustration. Xena spotted the girl leave the hut without Gabrielle noticing. "Hmm," she saw the girl walking through the square and decided to follow her in hope of finding out exactly who this girl really was. She kept her distance and she got a strange feeling from this girl, even from afar. Although, Gabrielle was upset about something. There was a missing piece to this story that Gabrielle never told her. Xena was determined to figure out what exactly that missing puzzle piece was. Right here, right now.

* * *

Gabrielle was thrust through the time portal and landed on her back outside of the Halls of War. Groaning, she rubbed the back of her head and sat up slowly. She gasped and saw the portal close right before her eyes. "No!" she ran to the portal and it disappeared. "This is just great!" she threw her hands in the air.

Spinning around, she was back in her normal time and that was a relief, except Xena was nowhere to be found. She was off somewhere else and not in her regular body either because Hebe didn't reverse the spell she put on Xena. Now, both of them were alone and separated from each other.

Ares appeared and she spun around, glaring at the war god. "Happy to be back in your own time, Gabrielle?"

"Where is Xena?" she asked and folded her arms defiantly.

He snickered mockingly and approached her with a swagger in his hips. "Well, that is a great question. Since she has the stone she can go to any time period she wants!" he growled and she cringed, taking a step back. "This is all your fault!"

" _My_  fault?" she laughed. "This is your doing, Ares! If you would have just followed Hebe's instructions and did what you were told to do then we wouldn't be in this mess!" she spat. "We both want Xena back and she's trapped somewhere. You go find her and bring. Her. Back!"

He arched an eyebrow, glaring at the short blonde. "Very demanding for a bard, aren't you?" he teased. "Maybe I could find her...and then kill her off and bring the warlord Xena to this time. Sound like a good plan, huh?"

"Ares..." she growled. "Don't even think about it. If you kill Xena then all of her will be lost! You don't think these things through, do you?" she smirked and he rolled his eyes. "You're able to pass through time easily. Go find and bring her back and ask Hebe to reverse this ridiculous spell."

"As if I could ask my sister to help me. Look what happened the first time!"

"That's your fault. You should know better than to trust your own kind," she smiled smugly and he grumbled.

He scoffed, "and you're actually trusting me to bring the brat back here?"

"You and I both care about Xena. That is the only, and I mean the  _only_  thing, that we have in common. Come on, Ares. You know it's the right thing to do."

He exhaled heavily. "You speak of this to no one. You hear me? No one." He pointed his finger in her face and vanished. Gabrielle smiled, nodding her head, quite proud of herself, then suddenly it donned on her.

"Hercules!" she gasped then took off running from the Halls of War.

As she ran through the field she spotted Caesar and his men and came to a skidding halt. "Oh gods," she muttered then made a quick decision, running in the opposite direction, far from the Romans. Caesar and his minions were obviously on a mission to find her and she wasn't going to stick around to see what happens next. She just wanted things back to normal, whatever that was.

* * *

Xena followed the small redheaded girl from a distance, to a small hut in a secluded part of the village. She hid behind a tree and watched the girl enter the hut and close the door behind her. She raised an eyebrow and quietly snuck up to the hut and crawled on the ground, looking for a window to peek into.

Lifting her eyes slowly, she looked through the window and saw a tall thin blonde woman clad in black armor standing over the girl.

The blonde woman held a brush in her hand and caressed the girl's wild frizzy hair. "Tell me again how Xena looked when you told her that I'd take her precious little secret to the grave?"

The girl smiled, "like she'd been stabbed through the heart with her own sword."

The woman giggled with delight and kept brushing the auburn headed child's hair. "And that's exactly how she'll feel, too, when Solan dies. Stabbed, stabbed through the heart! Pierced to the soul with such exquisite pain!" she grinned gleefully.

Xena's eyes widened, listening to this woman from outside.

The girl cringed as the woman kept brushing her hair harshly. "Ow! Don't!" she cried, yet the blonde continued. "Stop!" she yelled and the brush magically flew out of the woman's hand and landed on the far side of the room.

Xena gasped and covered her mouth. This girl is no girl. She has powers, great powers, and she is working with this woman, a woman she had never seen before. Why would Gabrielle leave this out of her storytelling? There is something more to this. So much more, she thought.

The girl rose from the chair and fluffed her auburn hair. "You'll get your chance. Why do you think I freed you?"

The woman grinned wickedly. "To make her suffer."

"To make her stop," the girl corrected. "My father's kingdom is at hand. The age of darkness, when Dahak will snuff out the people Xena loves, till he's crushed her very soul. And as she goes, so goes the world."

Xena slowly backed away from the hut and ran back to the village as quickly as possible. This is where it happens. Solan will die and she couldn't do anything about it at the time, but why not? What happened? What is missing here?

* * *

Upon returning to the village she spotted her older self leaving with Gabrielle and the large centaur also left the hut. She took the opportunity to see if Solan was still inside the hut and she peeked through the door and saw him sitting on the bed talking quietly to himself.

She stepped inside and his eyes immediately glanced over at her. He stared at her suspiciously and she smiled faintly. "Solan..." she said and closed the door behind her.

"That's right," he furrowed his eyebrows. "Do I know you?"

What a complicated question, she mused. "Not really. I'm a friend of your m..." she began, "of  _Xena_ ," she corrected herself. "Listen, you are not safe here."

"What are you talking about?"

"Someone is going to kill you. You can't stay here, it's not safe." She stepped forward and he grabbed his dagger, pointing it at her. "Please, you have to believe me." She begged. She was beginning to understand what Gabrielle meant when things got messy when you toyed with time.

"I just want to help. Xena, where did she go?"

He rose from the bed, almost the same height as her. "Why should I tell you?" he asked. His eyes drifted down to the chakram on her belt and his eyes widened. "You have Xena's chakram."

Oh no, she thought. "It's not what you think, Solan." This isn't going exactly like she hoped it would. "I don't have time to explain but you need to come with me. I can get you out of here and you will be safe." She extended her hair. "Please?"

"Why should I trust you? You probably killed Xena and took her chakram!" he exclaimed and Xena groaned, growing more and more frustrated.

"I did not kill her because I...because I just didn't." she huffed, "come with me now!" she ordered. Solan took a few steps back, still gripping onto his dagger. "If you don't come with me you will die!" her eyes grew in fear. "Please, Solan. I'm trying to save you..."

"I don't even know you!"

She snarled and grabbed his hand. "That's enough! You are coming with me!" she pulled him along with her and snagged the Kronos Stone out from her pocket and inhaled heavily.

"Going somewhere?" Ares blocked the doorway and she gasped. He waved his hand froze Solan in place. She turned and saw he was unable to move. Waving her hand in front of his face, she whipped her head around and snarled at the war god.

"Get out of my way, Ares! This doesn't concern you!"

He snickered. "Oh, but it does. You are screwing with time, little princess. I know you have this martyr phase you're going through but you can't save everyone. You couldn't save our son then, what makes you can save him now?"

She held up the stone with a smug grin. "Because I have  _this_."

"You're really start to get on my nerves," he grumbled and she held the stone close to her chest.

"Let me save him. I can do it if you just let me."

He laughed. "As if I would let you do this! You're messing with the wrong god this time, Xena!" he spat. "This god will haunt you forever. He is far worse than any Olympian and your meddling with time needs to end. Hand over the stone before I take it from you. I'd hate to hurt you..." he winked and she creased her eyebrows and looked back at Solan.

"Let me send him to a safe place and I'll give you the Kronos Stone. I promise." She pleaded and he rolled his eyes dramatically. "You want him to die don't you?"

"Look, there's a lot of things you don't know."

She gave him an incredulous look and crossed her arms. "I can change this. I have the power. You do too. You can let him die, Ares. Maybe my life could be different. You care about me inside, I can tell. You don't want me to suffer, do you?"

He pondered on that. Suddenly he was beginning to regret ever going through with this deal he made with Gabrielle, but he couldn't leave Xena like this and his eyes were focused on the stone. He proposed an idea to the teenager.

"I'll take the blonde brat to safety if you hand over the stone."

He stepped back and gripped the stone. "Why should I trust you? You're a liar."

He smiled softly. "Xena...I know you. I know everything about you. Hand over the stone and I'll get Solan to safety but –"

Of course there is a 'but', she thought.

"You belong to me when we return to the present time. Deal?" he held out his hand and she grimaced.

"Take him somewhere safe first," she said and he groaned.

With a wave of his hand, Solan vanished from sight and time was unfrozen for the time being. He heard the older Xena's voice from outside the hut. "Give the stone to me now!" he ordered. She held her breath and placed the stone in his palm. His eyes lit up, grasping the powerful tool in his hand once more. He grabbed her hand and disappeared from the hut.

* * *

Moments later, Xena was tossed onto the ground in front of the Halls of War. Slowly, she rose to her knees and felt incredibly sore not to mention she had a headache. She vowed from this moment she would never involve herself in time traveling again if she could avoid it.

Hebe appeared beside her brother and her eyes immediately darted to the stone. "Well done, brother. You found your warrior and the stone. Now, hand it over!" she reached forward and he pushed her away with a simple flick of his finger.

Xena frowned and hobbled to her feet. She ducked when she saw the small goddess fly over her head. She glared at Ares as he had quite a smug yet satisfied smile on his lips. "You promised, Ares."

"Of course and you made a deal with me. You are mine." He grinned and looked over at his disheveled sister. "Hebe! Turn her back!"

The goddess blew hair away from her face and brushed the wrinkles out of her gown. Waltzing over she circled around Xena and snickered under her breath. "Such a cute little girl. What a shame that I have to turn you back...or do I?" she frowned at the war god.

"Hebe, you turn her back like you said you would..." he said lowly.

"I made no such promise and you double crossed me, Ares! Give me my share of the stone and I will turn your mortal back." She wiggled her fingers and he rolled his eyes.

"Xena!"

The teenager turned and saw Gabrielle with Hercules and Iolaus running straight for her with big smiles on their faces. "Gabrielle!" she waved her hand and Ares grabbed her arm, bringing her close to his chest.

"Change her!" he ordered his sister. The goddess snapped her fingers and Xena fell to her knees, writhing in agony. She wrapped her arms around her body.

Gabrielle gasped and she glared at Ares. "What have you done to her now?!"

"Patience, blondie," Ares held up his hand and saw the teenager below him, transforming before his eyes. Gabrielle's eyes grew in fear. Xena's hair grew longer. The seams of her pants ripped open and her blouse was soon outgrown. Hercules and Iolaus cringed, as if they watched the strange process, meanwhile, Ares had a delightful grin on his face. He was eager to see Xena turn into the woman he knew her to be.

Xena lifted her head and her hands grazed her face. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she collapsed onto the ground. Gabrielle hastily ran to her side and held Xena's head in her lap. She pat her cheek gently and caressed her face, the face she had missed and longed to see again. It felt like forever and yet there was something different about Xena. She was not the innocent teenager anymore yet, she felt like she had lost a part of Xena that she'd never see again. That innocence was lost again and never to be seen again.

Ares stepped forward and grabbed Xena's arm, lifting her unconscious body off the ground. "Now, she is mine."

"No!" Hebe yelled and tackled him to the ground. "Give me the stone!" she pressed her fingers into his eyes. Ares let go of Xena's arm and Gabrielle grabbed Xena's legs and began dragging her off while the two deities fought one another.

"Help me!" she begged and Hercules ran over to aid her. He picked up Xena in his arms and her head lolled backward. "Go in the forest! I will meet up with you two later!" she said. Hercules nodded and took off running with Iolaus trailing behind him.

She eyed the stone in Ares' grasp and smiled. She ran over and snatched the stone from his grasp. He pushed Hebe off of him and rose to his feet. Ares and Hebe glanced over at Gabriele, holding the most precious thing on the earth.

"Gabrielle...think about it..." Ares warned. "Think about it!"

The smile on her lips grew and she threw the stone on the ground and stomped on it. Hebe gasped when she saw the stone shattered into millions of pieces. "No more playtime for you two." The bard crossed her arms, quite proud of herself and Hebe ran her fingers through her hair and then let out an ear piercing scream. Gabrielle covered her ears and Ares shoved his sister aside.

"This isn't over, Gabrielle. I will be back for Xena. Mark my words," the war god shook his head then vanished.

The bard let out a sigh of relief and then Hebe disappeared as well. She collapsed onto the ground and rubbed her forehead. She picked up one of the broken pieces of the Kronos Stone and smirked. She tossed the piece aside and looked back at the forest behind her. An eager smile graced her lips and she quickly ran off to go see Xena. Her Xena. At last.

**This isn't over yet ;)**


	11. Chapter 11

**It's been awhile but here we are, again ;)**

Chapter 11

Ares sat on his throne contemplating his entire plan that had gone wrong. He went back in time in two different time periods and still, his plan was unsuccessful. He had the dark Xena in his grasp, but Hebe had to ruin it with her little reversal spell that she failed to mention. Balling his fists up out of rage, he surprisingly kept calm and focused on what could be done about Xena in the long run. He made a deal with Xena and she agreed to it. Although, the war god wondered if the deal was still intact since Xena was no longer her teenage self anymore.

Would she remember everything that happened to her? Or would she simply be caught in a daze of confusion? Ares let out a heavy exhale while he racked his brain for hours over this situation. No matter how many times he tried, he could never have Xena by his side and that irked him to no end. The martyr Xena would never agree to be with him and it almost felt wrong to seduce the warrior when she was barely even a woman. She was a child –an innocent child –that had no idea what her life would be like years later.

And then there was that little incident with Solan. Xena tried so hard to save him before and she thought she could try again. She almost succeeded the first time, but she was not quick enough and Gabrielle was too self-absorbed to see the darkness in Hope's heart. Gabrielle's daughter, fathered by Dahak, was no match for Xena and the death of Solan could have been prevented. Could have, Ares mused, but it didn't quite go Xena's or Gabrielle's way in the end. Both children died. One innocent and one evil. If Gabrielle would have just listened to Xena then maybe none of this would have happened. Or maybe if Xena wasn't so obsessed with defeating Caesar in Britannia, then Gabrielle wouldn't have fallen down a dark path and sold a piece of her soul to Dahak.

So many 'what if's' and so many possibilities. Alas, the great warrior princess couldn't fix everything nor could she save everyone. Yet, Ares had to give it to her for trying a second time. A teenage warrior princess that wanted to save her future son was a nice touch and quite sweet too. There had been times when Ares thought he could join Xena and fight for good, but it just wasn't in him. He just wanted her and only her, nobody else, especially people like Gabrielle. She was influenced by the bard time and time again. Gabrielle was Xena's weakness and Xena, Ares' weakness. Everyone has their weaknesses, he thought.

The goddess of youth made a special appearance in her brother's temple and all Ares could do was roll his eyes. He was too exhausted, not to mention embarrassed, to deal with his sister and mouthy self. "What do you want?" he asked of her.

Hebe shrugged her shoulders and approached her brother's throne. "Oh, you know, just hanging around," she said and he closed his eyes tightly, hoping she would disappear into oblivion. Unlikely to happen. "There's talk on Olympus about what happened earlier today. Aphrodite is very upset with you, Ares."

"When is she not?" he scoffed.

"I'd say she is a little hurt, but she's always been the sensitive one. Hasn't she?" Hebe let out a light giggle. She hopped onto her older brother's lap and he groaned. Both stared into each other's eyes and she had the most smug smile on her face which angered him. He didn't want her to gloat and that's exactly what she was doing. Hebe never cared for Aphrodite and she sure didn't care about her brother's war conquests. She was too busy messing with mortal lives whenever boredom overcame her.

She exhaled and wrapped her arm around his broad shoulder. "So, I guess this means you won't be getting your mortal lover after all?" she bat her long lashes. Ares grunted and pushed her off his lap. Rising off his throne he stepped down and towered over her petite form. "Hey! It's not my fault that things didn't go your way!"

"It's  _not_?" he smirked. "I can still win her back."

"Not in this lifetime, Ares!" she cackled. "You had your chance long ago and she rejected you. Now, you're just mad that she doesn't want you anymore. Face it, brother. She hates you. Loathes you. She'd rather see you dead than have your arms around her."

Ares' eyes widened and he kicked he across the temple. The small goddess coughed violently and crawled across the marble floor. His boot stomped on her hand and she cried out in agony. "May I remind you that I am the God of War!" his voice roared inside the temple and she flinched. "And I can crush you like the puny worm that you are, Hebe. I don't care if you're my sister."

She smiled weakly and lifted her eyes to her furious brother. "Won't father be upset if you kill me? Gods can't kill other gods. You know the rules..." her smile grew and he stepped away from her. Rubbing her hand, she grabbed a column to aid her to a standing position. "You shouldn't act so high and mighty, Ares. I saw what you did for your mortal warrior back there."

He felt his heart stop for a brief moment and she nodded. Her eyes growing with animosity. "That's right. Ares, God of War with a heart of gold. Or perhaps you did it out of guilt for what you did to her? Or maybe you love her so much that you'd do anything to win her over! You toy with time, you know the consequences. You are lucky that mother is not happy with father right now or he would have struck you down already!" she huffed and disappeared from his temple.

Ares folded his arms and turned around, staring at his empty temple. He had the world at his disposal, yet he was lonely. No war or...person, could fill the void in his life anymore.

* * *

Inside the Telaquire Amazon encampment, Hercules brought Xena to one of the huts in hopes that she would recover and remain safe from Caesar and his army. The Amazons had since left their area, but Gabrielle suspected they would be return. Caesar would stop at nothing until the Amazons and Centaurs agreed to his campaign.

Gabrielle sat beside Xena for hours, hoping she would awaken, but so far, nothing happened and the sun was setting. The Romans would have been long gone from the Centaur camps by now. Caesar was hiding out in one of his large extravagant camps not too far from here. That was the only way he would be able to survey the area in such a timely manner. Gabrielle knew Caesar well, but Xena too him better. She probably never him better than any other Roman in the fleet. That could be a very bad thing or a very good thing. Usually, it was bad, very bad.

Xena's chest rose and fell as she lay dormant in a deep slumber. Gabrielle's eyes were constantly on the warrior, waiting and hoping. The longer she waited, the more impatient and hopeless she felt. Hercules and Iolaus left to go look for Argo while ago, but they haven't returned. She figured that horse would never come back unless Xena awoke. Those two were inseparable.

When Hebe turned Xena back into her normal body, Gabrielle figured that the warrior would return to her in one piece with one clear mind, but that wasn't the case. Whatever Hebe did to Xena exhausted her and the bard couldn't blame her. That was quite a wild ride these last few days. But as she remained focused on the warrior princess, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. Nearly an entire day had gone by and still, Xena was not awake.

Iolaus walked into the hut with an animal skin filled with water. Gabrielle turned and cast him a faint smile. "I brought you some water and food. You haven't left her side." He waltzed over and set the animal skin and blanket filled with assorted breads on the table. He gazed at Xena's stone cold face as she slept peacefully. "She hasn't woken up yet?"

The bard shook her head. "Not yet. Do you think that Hebe did something to her?"

"It's hard to tell," Iolaus half smiled and sat down next to Gabrielle. "Gods don't play by our rules. They make their own."

Gabrielle frowned and a certain furrow in her brow, crinkled her forehead. She was distraught and tired of living by these Olympians' rules. "What if she never wakes up? What then? We ask Ares for help?" she hated to mention his name. This was his fault to begin with.

"Patience, Gabrielle. Who knows what's going on in that head of hers?"

"That's what I'm afraid of." She muttered. She felt Iolaus lend a hand of comfort on her shoulder and she smiled softly. "What if she wakes up and she's not the Xena I know? What if she is trapped somewhere else? What if –"

"Gabrielle," he interrupted and she held her breath. "All you can do is wait." He pat her shoulder and she cast a crooked smile. "I'm going to see how Hercules is doing in finding Argo. I don't think he's had any luck finding her." He wagged his head then made his leave.

Gabrielle chuckled under her breath and moved a strand of hair away from Xena's face. "Argo is stubborn, just like  _you_ ," she frowned sadly, continuing to gaze at her slumbering friend. "Come on Xena. You can't stay like this forever. I don't know if you can hear me, but if you can...it'd be nice to know." Her eyes enlarged when she saw Xena exhale out heavily. But much to her disappointment, the warrior remained in a deep sleep. The bard slammed her fist on the bed and her sorrow had turned to fury.

* * *

Xena awoke and frowned, not familiar with her surroundings. Her eyes wandered around and slowly, she sat up, rubbing the back of her aching head. Her hand ran down her torso and she wasn't wearing her usual leathers, but a simple linen dress. Confused and in a daze, she rose to her feet and then looked around at her surroundings. Fog, so much fog. A thick fog covered the tops of black trees and the soil beneath her feet, cold and dry.

Barely able to keep her balance, she tread through the thick white fog. Her body cut the fog like a knife and her head whipped to her left and then to her right. No visible roads. No animals. No people. Her eyes drifted to the soil and she saw dead plants curled around her bare feet. No life whatsoever. Taking a step forward in the strange smog, she stepped on a tree branch. The sound echoed around her and she covered her ears.

Breathing heavily, she began to feel anxious. Tired. Nervous. Feelings that left her long ago. She couldn't think of another time when she felt frightened. Perhaps, when she was a little girl. When her older brother told her stories of giants pillaging villages or maybe the story of Hades' three headed dog that terrorized all the lost souls in the underworld. But this fear, was a different kind of fear.

She ran her fingers through her hair and frowned. Her hair reached to her hips, much longer than the length she had currently. As she stood, ogling her long locks, a voice echoed in the strange fog. Xena gasped and swiftly turned around at the echoing voice. Briskly, she tread through the cold dirt, following the voice.

The closer she got to the voice, the more it seemed to disappear. The softer it became, the closer she got. This wasn't a place. This was a torture chamber, she realized. Her hands roamed across every inch of her body and she felt very much alive. She wasn't dead and if she was, she certainly didn't end up in the Elysian Fields.

 _Was this the underworld that everyone spoke about? Couldn't be. Unless, this is punishment for all the sins I've committed in my past?_  The more she walked through the thick fog, the more she felt like she was going in a circle. A horrible endless circle.

Then the voice appeared in the air again. She wrapped her arms around herself and felt her head throb. "I know that voice," she whispered. The voice echoed inside of her head and she cringed at the loud inaudible voice. She couldn't make out what the voice was conveying and she wasn't sure if she was supposed to.

Louder.

Louder.

Ear piercing.

" _Xena_!" the voice yelled firmly and the warrior's eyes shot open. Suddenly, the air was quiet, her head was clear and she saw a petite blonde standing in front of her.

"I know you," Xena furrowed her eyebrows and approached the blonde. "Don't I?" she touched the blonde's shoulder.

"Do you?"

Xena nodded and smiled confusedly. "Yes, I'm sure of it. I know you from somewhere."

"You say you know me, but do you know yourself, Xena?"

Xena frowned and stepped forward to touch the stranger and in a flash she was gone.

"What are you doing here?" the voice appeared from behind and Xena whipped her head around to see the petite blonde standing with her arms folded. "You aren't supposed to be here."

"How am I supposed to know what I'm doing here if I don't even know what  _here_  is!" Xena spat.

The blonde smiled and chuckled. "You're getting angry, Xena."

Xena composed herself quickly and placed her hands on her hips. "No, I'm not."

"Stop lying, Xena. You can't lie to me. I know you very well. The only person that's keeping you here is... _you_." the blonde raised her palms and shrugged her shoulders.

Xena huffed. "Then how do I leave?"

"You're smart. You'll figure it out," she said and saw the warrior's eyes darken to a menacing deep blue. "Careful of that anger. It'll be the death of you."

The raven haired warrior felt a hand on her shoulder and then an arm wrap around her midsection. The hands were warm to the touch and she closed her eyes, embracing the warmth coursing inside of her.  _I know these hands_. Grabbing hold of the hand on her torso, she opened her eyes slowly and saw a dark haired man.

Gasping she pushed him away. " _You_!" she pointed at him.

"You aren't happy to see me, Xena?" Ares smiled. "We are friends. Even more than friends."

She shook her head and backed away. She turned and saw the blonde had vanished before she could get any answers. "I know you."

"I'm sure you do," he sauntered towards her and grabbed her waist, holding her close. He dipped her backwards and her eyes widened as his face inched closer and closer. Too close, she noted. "You know me very well," he whispered and leaned in to kiss her lips.

Xena cringed and shoved his face away. He dropped her and she fell on her backside. Crawling away, she got up as quickly as she could and began running as far as she could through the thick fog. Breathing heavily, she felt lost and confused. She didn't know where she was.

"You can't hide from me!" Ares' voice echoed in the fog and she looked back, but nobody was behind her. She continued to run forward and bumped into something or rather, someone.

A child, a blonde boy. She looked into his blue eyes and there was something that reminded her of someone she used to know. She reached forward and touched his soft cheek. The boy looked up at her with dead eyes.

"You let me die," the boy said and Xena's eyes widened.

"What?"

"You were supposed to save me and you let me die. You left me there to die," he said. She retracted her hand and slowly backed away. The boy's eyes remained firmly on her, not blinking or budging from where he stood. His eyes stared into her soul.

"No...I..." she fumbled and she had no words to express how she felt. "You know me, don't you?"

"Do I?" he said in a flat voice. "Don't you recognize me?" he asked in a more solemn tone.

Xena furrowed her eyebrows and looked into the boy's blue eyes. His dead, lifeless eyes. "Yes, I do but I...I can't remember."

"You can't recognize him because you don't remember," the female voice appeared and Xena gasped. The blonde came round and the boy was gone. "He knows you, but you don't. You know me, but you don't remember me either, right?"

"I don't understand what's going on!" Xena's voice rose as her heart raced. She felt defeated in this place and more lost than ever. These people that came and went in her presence was no help either.

"The angrier you become, the more lost you are, Xena," the blonde said. She cast a warm smile and touched Xena's jarring cheekbones. "If you just look inside yourself, you'll find the truth."

"Don't listen to her," Ares appeared next to Xena. The warrior looked to her right and saw the god of war looming over her.

The blonde frowned and grabbed Xena's arm. "He's a liar. You can't trust him."

He smiled and wrapped his fingers on Xena's shoulder. "I'm not a liar. She's trying to sway you off your path."

"Xena, look at me," the blonde said and Xena whipped her head to her left. "Trust me."

"Xena, don't listen to her!" he growled. "Trust  _me_..."

The warrior felt breathless and her eyes darted back and forth to both entities on either side of her. She didn't know what to do or whom to trust. She couldn't remember who she was, so how could she pick a side. He seemed persuasive yet the woman was overbearing and sounded needy.

Xena felt both of the entities tugging on her arms. Voices filling both of her ears, though with different words. She closed her eyes and pushed them both away. The blonde stumbled backwards and the war god remained firmly planted in the soil. He folded his arms and Xena turned to look at the two gawking at her.

The longer she stared at the two people, the more lost she was than before. She couldn't choose a side, but did she have to, she wondered. He was tempting and more endearing with his way of words and hands. Although the blonde was sweet and had a good head on her shoulders. She seemed more trustworthy, but how could she choose?

_"I think you have to know the darkest part of yourself to be whole."_

_"The true secret of life is to find peace in yourself and to share it with the world."_

_"There is only one way to change this cycle of hate and it's through love and forgiveness."_

Xena held her head in between her hands. Her eyes continuing to go back and forth between the two beings staring at her intensely. The blonde cast her a warm smile and extended her hand, while the menacing tall dark haired god of war remained closed off and unwilling to give aid.

"Xena..." the blonde held out her hand. "Come home with me," she said with a beaming smile.

"Make sure you're making the right choice, Xena," Ares said defiantly.

Xena frowned and stepped forward. She grabbed the blonde's hand and felt heat radiating off her touch. " _Gabrielle_..."

* * *

Xena jolted awake and gasped for air. The bard turned at once as soon as she heard her friend awake. She scooted on the edge of the bed and cupped the warrior's face. "You're back!" she said and Xena smiled faintly. "I thought you'd never wake up! You've been out for almost an entire day! See, the sun set already," she pointed to the open window near the bed.

Xena nodded and felt her entire body ache. She was sore all over. Her hand grazed her bare arm and then peeked under the blankets and frowned. "My armor..."

Gabrielle's cheeks flushed. "Hercules is going to get it for you. It's in Argo's saddlebag." She said and Xena's eyes surveyed her surroundings. "Do you remember anything?"

"No..." she said uncertainly.

"Nothing at all? Really?" the bard was more than disappointed yet a tad relieved.

"Where are we?" she cut off Gabrielle.

"We're in the Amazon nation. It's a long story. I can tell you tomorrow if you'd like? Or maybe not at all..."

Xena raised her hand as her headache worsened. Gabrielle bit her bottom lip and leaned back on the bed. She noticed her friend was different. She wasn't herself, at least not at this moment. Perhaps it was a blessing that Xena couldn't recall anything these last few days.

Gabrielle inched forward and Xena turned her head slowly. "Do...you remember me?"

The warrior smirked, "how could I forget you?"

**Next chapter is the last!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Thank you for reading and following along! This has been very fun to write and quite different material than what I'm used to writing. Hopefully, in the future, I can write more stories like this one. Enjoy this last chapter here :)**

Chapter 12

Hercules and Iolaus had no luck finding Argo. They concluded that the horse either didn't want to be found or she was waiting for her master to call her back. The following morning, Hercules suggested that they get a move on elsewhere in order to find Argo because her saddlebag held a very important leather armor. Xena was dressed in a linen sleeveless dress that hit a few inches above her knees.

Gabrielle remained inside of the hut within the Amazon encampment. She could hardly sleep last night and neither could Xena, but the two barely said a word to one another. The bard knew that this Xena was the real one, but still, there was something off about her. This warrior princess wasn't the same person she once was. Gabrielle didn't want to pry Xena for information and had yet to tell her what happened over the last few days. She could hardly believe that was only a few days of chaos. It felt like a lifetime for her.

Xena lay in the bed on her side, gaping at the wall. She heard Gabrielle shuffling around in the hut, though the air was thick and tense. Everything was awkward and silent. Xena felt like she wasn't in the same place anymore. She was locked away somewhere for awhile and she couldn't leave that horrible place. She couldn't remember anything and that was the most frustrating thing of it all.

If only she could recall her memories and why she was trapped in that fog for so long. She felt like years passed her by, but she knew that couldn't be true because Gabrielle was still the same. Hercules and Iolaus were here and she wasn't entirely sure why they were here. She wasn't even certain as to why she was inside the Amazon's camp and she also didn't understand why she was without her armor. She never went anywhere without it.

She felt like she was missing a piece of herself. Or perhaps she was in another time period or maybe she was still in a dream. Her thoughts were abruptly interrupted when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Xena flinched in fear and looked over her shoulder to see the bard's concerned face and big green eyes gawking down at her.

Gabrielle felt a nervous tension from Xena and that was something she never witnessed before. Xena was always so strong and hardheaded, but she has a kind heart. This Xena was not the person she grew to love during their travels together.

"I was able to make some tea. I didn't know if you were hungry or not..." the blonde bard said and Xena rolled back over onto her side. She frowned sadly and set the cup of tea on a table near the bed. "Hercules and Iolaus went to look for Argo again," she said and received no response. Exhaling heavily she wasn't sure what to do now. She knew Xena could be quiet sometimes, but never this quiet.

"Listen, Xena," she began, "I don't know what you're thinking right now, but I just want to let you know that I'm really happy that you're back and I missed you a lot."

Xena furrowed her eyebrows and tucked her hand beneath her chin. "I didn't know where I was. If I wasn't with you then where was I?" she finally spoke.

Gabrielle's eyes grew and was relieved to hear her beloved friend's voice again. "Do you want me to start from the beginning?" she asked. Xena turned over onto her back and stared up into Gabrielle's eyes then gave her a curt nod.

Sighing, she started the long story, but made sure to leave some parts out. "We were in Thessaly fighting Ares' army. They were attacking a village for no apparent reason." She noticed the confused look on Xena's face. She wanted to ask if the warrior remembered that, but decided to keep going. "Ares was still upset that you wouldn't marry him or..whatever," she cringed in disgust then continued, "long story short, he made a deal with his sister, Hebe, to turn you back into your warlord self, but it didn't work. You reverted to a younger version of yourself: a teenager. You didn't even know who I was. I tried to get Ares to reverse the spell, but it didn't work. Anyway, Hercules and Iolaus helped me turn you back. It took a few days but here you are." She smiled faintly, hoping that her friend would remember some of what she said.

Xena pursed her lips and blinked rapidly as she continued gaping at the bard. Gabrielle sighed and saw the bemused expression on her face. "You don't remember any of it, do you?" she asked and Xena shook her head. "Well, maybe it's a good thing you don't remember because I thought for a second there that I'd never get you back and you'd be stuck in your teenage body forever!"

The warrior sat up in the bed and inched closer to Gabrielle. "I...was sent somewhere. I didn't know where I was. Everything was so foggy. So much fog." Her head began to hurt just talking about it. "I saw you, I saw Ares. I saw people I didn't remember but they remembered me. It felt like I was there for eternity. I thought I was in Tartarus. I didn't know how to leave until...you showed me the way." She smiled softly.

Gabrielle's cheeks flushed and she grabbed Xena's hand, squeezing tightly. "I guess you were stuck there because of Hebe's spell." She said and though it sounded crazy, she wouldn't put anything past the Olympians. She huffed and stared at Xena once more and her confused face. "Well, anyway, I'm glad that I was able to help you come out of...wherever you were. I'm really glad you're back. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Thanks Gabrielle."

"For what?"

"For showing me to my right path. I was given a choice. I could have chose Ares but I picked you. That was only way out of that place. I hope I never see that place again  _or_  Ares," Xena's upper lip curled as she thought of the God of War and his antics. It was no surprise that Ares was behind everything. Once again, his plans fell through and he made a huge mess for everyone.

Gabrielle chuckled. "I think we'll see Ares again but I hope it won't be anytime soon."

Hercules entered the hut breathlessly and smiled at Xena, seeing her awake and talking again. "Nice to see you back to yourself again."

Xena smirked, "I don't feel like myself, but I will... _eventually_." she shared a knowing look with the bard beside her.

He nodded and hated to interrupt. "I can't find Argo anywhere, Xena. She doesn't like me."

Gabrielle scoffed, "join the club. She doesn't like me either."

Xena frowned, feeling a bit insulted. "She  _does_  like you."

"No she doesn't Xena!" Gabrielle spat. "That horse is obsessed with you. She's like your baby," she teased and Xena rolled her eyes.

"She'll come back," Xena swung her legs out bed and smoothed the linen dress. "She always does."

Gabrielle hopped off the bed and watched Xena heading towards the exit. "Where are you going?"

"To get some fresh air. It is much needed," Xena cast her bard a soft smile then brushed by Hercules and left the hut.

* * *

She walked through the empty Amazon camp alone. Everything was the same, or was it? She had no idea what happened here but the Amazons were gone. A minor detail that Gabrielle forgot to mention it seemed. Surely, she would find out what happened eventually. For now, she wandered through the camp barefooted. She felt less and less like herself especially since her armor was gone. Everything was gone.

She felt connected here but at the same time she didn't. She missed Gabrielle but while she was trapped in that awful place, she didn't even know Gabrielle existed even when she looked into her eyes. Gabrielle was a stranger to her and now that she escaped that fog, she didn't want to feel abandoned ever again, from anything or anyone, especially Gabrielle. She was the most important person in her life and to lose her, even for few days, was enough to know that she could never leave Gabrielle's side.

Her hearing heightened and she halted in the middle of the forest. She was far enough from the camp now and knew she wasn't being followed by Hercules or Gabrielle. No, she was being followed by someone else.

"Ares," she said flatly.

He made himself visible to her eyes and he saw the horrible look on her face. She was not happy, that was for sure. He brought his hands from behind his back sheepishly. "I got your armor back for you," he said and lifted the leathers.

She raised an eyebrow and snatched it from his hand. Clutching the armor to her chest, she continued glaring at him. The war god's eyes averted away from her harsh stare and he folded his arms. "Why did you do it?" she asked.

His eyes lifted from the ground and saw her facial expression change from pure anger and hate to bewilderment. "Do what?"

"Put a spell on me to turn me back into the horrible person I once was. Why did you do it?"

This was not a question he wanted to answer, but he wasn't going to run away from her now. "Because I..." he began and saw her eyes widen, awaiting his answer. If he told her his real feelings for her, she might laugh or brush it off like she always has in the past. But if he didn't tell her then they would remain in the same relationship they've been having these last few years –strained.

He straightened himself and felt like he couldn't tell her why he really did what he did to her. He couldn't take the rejection again. It was bad enough that he got rejected by Xena's younger self, but to be rejected by her current self...he couldn't take again.

"Because I want you to belong to me. Why is that so hard for you to grasp? You can be so dense."

She was tempted to roll her eyes, but refrained. "I will never belong to you Ares. I don't  _belong_  to anyone. I can't believe you would stoop so low to ask one of your stupid sibling's for help. You used me and this is a new low, even for you, Ares."

He groaned and saw her about to walk back to the Amazon camp. "I didn't mean for any of this to happen," he said and she halted. "It wasn't supposed to be like this."

Xena smiled and placed a hand on her hip. "Oh? Enlighten me then.  _How_  was it supposed to happen then? That I would magically become your warrior queen and terrorize the world with  _you_  by my side? You know, Ares, I'd say you disgust me, but now I just feel sorry for you. The reason why I am not with you anymore is not because I hate you, but it's because I don't love you. You can't  _make_  someone love you, Ares."

She looked at his defeated self and never thought she'd see that expression on the Olympian's face. "I'm sorry," she said then walked off back to the hut.

* * *

Gabrielle was arguing outside the hut with Iolaus and then saw Xena walk up with her armor in hand. Both ceased argument and Gabrielle cocked her head. "Your armor...you found it...?"

"I didn't find it. It was given to me," Xena said. She felt self conscious standing in a linen dress. Iolaus cleared his throat whilst rubbing the back of his head.

"I'll go see if Hercules needs help. He's still looking for Argo," he said then ran off to find his friend.

Gabrielle approached Xena and they head inside the hut. Xena stripped herself of the dress and began putting on her leather armor, piece by piece. "Who gave your armor back to you?" she asked. Xena said nothing and strapped her gauntlets on. "It was Ares, wasn't it?"

Xena sighed heavily. "Gabrielle, nothing happened and yes he gave me my armor back."

"Why is he being so kind all of a sudden? Did he do something to you again?" Gabrielle's eyes roamed Xena's backside and then probed the warrior's body for anything unusual.

Xena hissed and smacked the bard's hand away. "He didn't do anything to me. Quit it." she put on her corset and tried lacing it up by herself. She felt Gabrielle's hands grab hers and began lacing up the corset as tight as the leather would bend. "Thanks..." she muttered.

As Gabrielle laced up the warrior's corset she said, "do you feel different? I mean, you aren't acting like your normal self." That was the understatement of the year after what the two had been through and the worst part was that Xena couldn't recall any of it.

"I don't want you to worry about me, Gabrielle. I'm sure I'll feel more normal as the days go on. For now, I want to focus on the present," she said and the bard quirked her mouth sideways. Curiously, she asked, "so, how was it living with me as a teenager?"

Gabrielle scoffed loudly and pat the warrior's back, giving her the signal that she was finished lacing the leather corset. Xena turned around with a smug grin. "Let's just say, I like the older you. But there is one thing that I will miss."

"What's that?"

"Your innocence," the bard said and Xena's eyebrows rose in surprise. "You had no idea how to use a sword. You were so curious about everything and your compassion was so great. You wanted to save the world. Even though I like you the way you are now, I will miss that innocence that I got to witness for a few days."

Xena half smiled at that. She too, had missed her innocent life back in Amphipolis with her mother and brothers. She missed playing with Lyceus and working in her mother's tavern during the day. There were a lot of things she wished she could do over again, but those times had long gone.

* * *

Later, they walked from the Amazon camp and into the other nation within the fields of Corinth heading towards the Centaur camps. Hercules and Iolaus were set on finding Argo, but Xena was able to convince them to head home because her horse was too stubborn or spooked to come to a stranger. Argo would come back like she always has before. She also thanked the two friends for their help even though she didn't and couldn't remember what happened to her.

She and Gabrielle walked in the grassy field together. Xena looked at the Centaur camp from afar. Only a few yards away and she felt like she was not going to be welcome there. It had been many years since she betrayed Kaleipus and the rest of the Centaurs. She was friends with them now, that much she knew, but still, she couldn't help but feel so guilty and terrible for what she did more than ten years ago.

Gabrielle sensed Xena's tension and grabbed hold of her arm for comfort. "Caesar came and tried to make the Centaurs submit to him and his army. Me, Hercules and Iolaus left before we could any information out of him."

Xena's eyes darkened and she surely remembered Caesar. It seemed that all her memories of her past and present were still there except for these last few days. "And where is Caesar now?" she asked. Her blood boiled inside her thinking of the arrogant Roman.

The bard didn't want Xena to spiral down into a tunnel of hatred just because of Caesar. "I don't know. I was too busy trying to rescue you from Ares and Hebe." She said and felt Xena's body tighten. "We could...go ask the Centaurs? I'm sure they know what happened."

They waltzed into the Centaur encampment and it looked much different than Gabrielle remembered. She was here yesterday and it looked like nothing like this. The huts were in different areas of the camp and there were far more children here as well as some Amazon women too. The Centaurs seemed to be going on with their daily activities and didn't notice their presence.

Gabrielle felt something awry when they entered the camp. She wagged her finger and stuck close to the warrior. "This wasn't like this yesterday. There were more men here and Romans destroyed some of the huts. This place looks like it hadn't been touched."

Xena raised an eyebrow and walked towards a young Centaur. She tapped his shoulder and turned around while in the middle of a conversation with someone else. "Excuse me, have you seen the Roman army come through here recently?"

The two Centaurs eyed her curiously and both shook their heads. "No Romans here, Xena. If there were we would have seen them."

"Thank you..." Xena walked off and Gabrielle felt even more confused than Xena did right now.

"Xena, I swear. There were Romans here. I was here yesterday!" she began to feel crazy and maybe she was in a different dimension right now, but that couldn't be because Xena wasn't a teenager anymore. None of this made any sense.

"You have to believe me. I was talking to Caesar! Right over there!" she pointed to the village square. "And he was chasing me and you. He and I...he, I –"

"Gabrielle," Xena interrupted, "I believe you."

Her eyes overlooked the large camp. She saw many Centaurs conversing, training and walking together. Everything seemed to be normal here and if Caesar never came here, then perhaps something went wrong when she was absent. If she really was a teenager like Gabrielle said and Ares was behind this chaos, then of course, something else would have had to go wrong.

She heard Gabrielle whispering to herself and sensed frustration in the bard's hushed tone. Turning her head, she saw a group of children, from small to tall, playing with each other. Laughing, smiling and running around the large totem poles in the center of the camp. She smiled watching the children together. The innocence of a child was definitely something to envy. She too, wished she had some of that innocence back in her life like Gabrielle mentioned.

Watching the children play together she heard a familiar voice in another gaggle of children, except these children were older and none were Centaurs. Her eyes immediately darted to the voice and she stepped forward, glaring at a boy with long blonde hair that reminded her of her son. The longer she stared and heard his voice, she was convinced that it was definitely her son.

"Solan?" she said barely above a whisper. Without giving Gabrielle warning she briskly walked over to the group of young boys. She stood afar, but close enough to see that the boys were comparing knives and daggers. Her eyes widened when she saw this boy that looked like Solan, smiling and nodding his head to his friends.

As much as she wanted this moment to be real, she knew it couldn't be. She held Solan in her arms when he died that day, nearly two years ago. She and Gabrielle were both there when it happened. She never got to tell her son how much he really meant to her. It was too late, but now, if this was real, then something must have happened. She hoped she wasn't stuck in another awful place that played tricks on her mind. She didn't sense anything malicious and perhaps Ares was not involved with this, or could he be?

The longer she stared at her son, the less real it felt. " _Solan_!" a voice from afar alarmed her. She spun around, recognizing that loud voice. Kaleipus, the man she betrayed long ago and whom had died the same day Solan did. He was alive too, but how? She backed away so she could not be seen by Solan and Kaleipus. She felt like she didn't want to exist here and was too nervous and anxious to say anything to them both.

Gabrielle ran up to her friend that was hiding. "Is that Kaleipus?" she asked and Xena didn't respond. "Solan?" she half smiled and glanced over at Xena. She was in a daze and didn't know what to do or what to say. For once, the warrior princess was speechless. "I don't know what is going on but obviously something happened during your little time warp."

Xena didn't even bother to respond, but watched Kaleipus talk with Solan aside from the other boys. He was speaking to him firmly and Solan repeatedly nodded his head, listening to his mentor. She gripped onto one of the carts and broke off a piece of wood. Sheepishly, she looked at Gabrielle and threw the broken wood on the ground.

Gabrielle frowned and rubbed her chin. She did leave part of the story out when she told Xena what happened. "Something did happen that I forgot to mention," she said and had Xena's full attention. Now, she saw the fury in the warrior's eyes.

"What happened?"

"Ares, you and I went into the past in Corinth. We met you...when you were a warlord. I don't know how this happened, but your teenage self met your dark counterpart. We had the Kronos Stone. Actually, Ares had the stone and you stole it from him. You disappeared with the stone and I was sent back to the present."

Xena's eyes widened and she folded her arms. "And you didn't think to mention this to me earlier?"

"It wasn't intentional," Gabrielle scowled. "You went somewhere else and Ares brought you back. I don't know where you went and since you can't remember what happened, I can't ask you. It's pointless now."

Xena's lip quivered and she turned around to see that Solan was gone. So close and yet so far. He was gone from her sight again. "Where did he go?" she ran out from behind the wooden cart, searching for him. She saw Kaleipus exit his hut and ran towards him.

Gabrielle gasped. "Xena! Wait!"

The large Centaur saw Xena approaching and he smirked. "Xena, what are you doing here? I wasn't aware of your arrival."

 _Neither was I._ She steadied her heavy breathing. "Solan. Is he here?" she asked anxiously.

He nodded and thumbed to the hut behind him. "He's inside." He noticed the worried look on her face and knew something was not right with her. "Are you alright?"

She snapped her head around and wiped her brow and adjusted her bodice. "Yes, yes I'm fine." She kept eyeing the hut behind Kaleipus. "Can I see him?"

Kaleipus smiled, "of course but I'm afraid that your visit will have to be short. I am taking him hunting with a few of the other Centaurs."

Xena nodded and tried to remain calm. Unconsciously she smiled while eyeing the hut. So close, yet so far. She brushed past the tall Centaur and braced herself before entering the hut.

Gabrielle stood by the cart, watching Xena enter the hut after speaking with Kaleipus. She was just as confused as Xena was and couldn't wrap her head around it all. She remembered Solan dying and her own daughter, Hope. She remembered that horrible day and it was as if it never happened.

"Can't figure it out can you?" Ares appeared behind her.

She spun around with malice in her eyes. "Ares!" she whipped out her Sais, ready to attack. He smirked and backed away.

"Relax, Gabrielle. I didn't come here to antagonize you. Although, it would be very entertaining."

"Haven't you had enough entertainment for today?" she grimaced and lowered her Sais. "What is going on?"

He let out a deep exhale. "Little Xena made a trip down memory lane with the Kronos Stone before I brought her back to the present. She tried to save her precious son one last time. Amazing that even as a young brat, she had such compassion for a son she hadn't even birthed yet. Imagine that?" he chuckled and rubbed his bearded chin.

"What are you saying? That she saved him?"

"Well, he's alive, isn't he?" Ares winked then disappeared.

Gabrielle huffed and turned around, gawking at the hut that Xena and her son were in. If only Xena could remember what happened. Ares was no help with his riddles, as usual. She didn't expect anything less from the God of War.

* * *

Xena sneaked inside the hut and looked at Solan sitting on a large rug, sharpening a short sword. He was completely focused and she hated to interrupt him. She stepped inside and let the curtain behind her fall. She thought she'd never see Solan again and now that he was here right in front of her, she didn't know what to say. He was supposed to be dead and if this was some awful trick then she would find the person responsible.

Solan lifted his eyes, feeling a presence near. He beamed and set the sharpening stone aside. "Xena!" he rose to his feet and came up to her. He wrapped his lanky arms around her neck, hugging her tightly. Xena smiled softly and for a brief moment, she had to convince herself that this moment was in fact, very real. She embraced him warmly and squeezed his slender body against hers.

She didn't want to let go but knew she had to. Solan pulled away from her and she kept staring into his big blue eyes. He was so excited to see her and she was hesitant to show such affection towards him in case this was a dream.

"I didn't know you were here! When did you get here?" he asked. She kept staring at him and he lifted an eyebrow. "Are you okay?" he asked and she nodded. "Did Gabrielle come too?" he was anxious to leave the hut and she grabbed his shoulders.

He was so different from the last time she came here. He was taller, almost as tall as she was. His voice was deeper and another year older. Tempted to reach out and touch his cheek, though she refrained from doing so.

"I just came in awhile ago. I wanted...to see you," she finally spoke. He kept smiling and bobbed his head.

"I'm glad you came. You should have told me that you were coming. I have to go hunting with Kaleipus and the others soon."

She frowned in disappointment and he went back to the rug to grab his hunting gear. She just got here and he was about to leave her side again. "Well, what if I came with you?" she suggested.

He slung the bow over his shoulder and smirked. "Really?"

"Really. I can ask Kaleipus if it's alright that I go with you," she said and he eyed her curiously. "That is...if you want me to come?"

"Of course I want you to come! You can teach me how to use my new sword." He pulled out his short sword, admiring it with pride in his eyes. "It's not as big as yours," he jested and she smiled. "It's good for hunting rabbits and other small animals. I learned how to use a bow last year. I could show you during the hunt if you want?"

She nodded. "Sure, I'd love to see."

"Great! Let me tell Kaleipus that you're coming with us!" he ran past her and exited the hut.

She emerged from the hut and saw Gabrielle briefly talk to Solan before he ran off to talk to Kaleipus. The bard had a big smile on her face and noticed Xena standing by herself. "So, he's really here," Gabrielle said and Xena lowered her eyes. "I hear we're going on a hunt?"

"You don't have to come if you don't want to, Gabrielle." Xena said eyeing the concerned bard.

"No, no. I want to go with you two," Gabrielle answered and sighed. "Are you...going to tell him?"

Xena looked at her son talking with Kaleipus, or more like begging. "I don't know. Maybe in the future, but not today."

Gabrielle nodded. "I'm going to see if I can help Solan convince Kaleipus to let us accompany them. Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine, Gabrielle, really." Xena smiled and the bard half smiled then ran off, waving her hand at the group of Centaurs.

"You're welcome," Ares appeared leaning on a large totem pole. Xena grimaced.

"What are you talking about?" she hissed.

His eyes glanced over at Xena's son standing beside Gabrielle. "You really don't remember what happened to you, do you?"

Silence.

"I'll have to give my sister a lecture later." He sighed and kicked himself off the totem pole. "I saved your son for you like you asked."

She scoffed, "I did no such thing." She crossed her arms.

"But you did. When you trapped in that scrawny body of yours. You begged me to save Solan for you and you promised yourself to me," he inched closer to her and her body became frigid. "I'm telling the truth, Xena."

She turned and looked in his eyes. For once, she saw sincerity. Glancing over at her son she saw him waving at her. It was obvious that Ares was not visible to the mortal eye. "You did that for me?" she questioned and he averted his gaze as if embarrassed. "Why?"

"If you have to ask then you really  _are_  dense, Xena," he said then vanished.

"Xena!" Solan called out and she turned at his voice. He ran up to her breathlessly with a big grin plastered on his face. "Kaleipus says it's alright that you come with us. Are you ready to go?"

She couldn't help but think of what Ares said to her. She didn't know if he was telling the truth and she didn't know what happened to her these last few days. But whatever occurred here obviously altered time and she didn't want to give that up and never see her son again. One day, she would find out the truth and hopefully remember what happened to her.

"Yes, I'm ready," she grinned and he grabbed her hand, hurrying her along.


End file.
